Senate embarks on recess after funding government and confirming Blanche, punting other priorities

The Senate adjourned for a five-week recess early Saturday morning after passing a bill to fund the federal government until Dec. 11 and confirming Todd Blanche as attorney general.

Senate Republicans also agreed to set aside — for the moment — President Trump’s demand to approve another budget resolution to pave the way for tens of billions of dollars in new military spending and to pass the SAVE America Act.

Senators will return to their home states or take congressional delegation trips abroad for the next several weeks and are not due to return to Washington until Sept. 14.

Passage of the continuing resolution to fund the government past the election takes a lot of pressure off senators in both parties ahead of the September work period as both Democrats and Republicans were eager to avoid stumbling into another government shutdown before the midterm election.

The stopgap funding measure passed 90 to 6, with Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) voting present because the legislation includes a death benefit for her brother Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) heir.

The funding bill was held up by an intense fight within the Senate GOP conference over a provision added at the behest of the White House to delay the implementation of a ban on  intoxicating hemp-derived products that Congress enacted in November.

Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) insisted on voting on an amendment to strip the hemp-related language out of the bill but the Senate voted 61-32 to table it.

The Senate later........

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