Senate departs D.C. for recess without passing SAVE America Act 😠👎

Members of the United States Senate have exited for their August recess after an all-nighter to confirm U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, but failed to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act as President Donald Trump urged them to.

On Saturday, Senators departed Washington, D.C., to return to their home states or take congressional delegation trips abroad for the next several weeks. They are not due to return to the Capitol until Monday, September 14^th.

Before the senators left, they passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through the midterms, ensuring they would not cause another shutdown before the high-stakes elections in November. The measure passed 90-6.

 

Senator Darline Graham (R-S.C.) voted “present” for the bill, likely because it includes a $174,000 death gratuity payment for her brother, late Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) “heirs at law.” This could include her, as he was unmarried with no children, possibly posing a conflict of interest.

The chamber later voted largely across party lines to confirm Todd Blanche for the permanent U.S. attorney general position to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The confirmation came after days of uncertainty as several Republicans held out alongside Democrats over concerns that Blanche’s former career as Trump’s personal defense lawyer may prevent him from carrying out his duties with objectivity. In the end, only two Republicans opposed Blanche’s confirmation.

While other priorities were wrapped up late on Friday and in the early-morning hours of Saturday, the SAVE America Act was not among them.

Instead, Republican Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) spoke to the president Friday evening about an alternative plan to approve elements of the election security bill in a broader budget package that would also fund the Department of War upon their return in mid-September.

“There was a concern whether or not it could actually pass, the budget resolution, tonight,” Johnson acknowledged.

“We’re not in a position right now where we have the wherewithal to pass it right now,” Lee said of the SAVE Act.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) 

 

and other Senate Republicans agreed to hold a vote Friday on a bill sponsored by Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio) — S. 5271, the “American Confidence in Elections Act” — that would require voters to show photo identification. This failed 52-46 because it did not garner 60 votes.

In a roll-call vote to adjourn, some Republicans railed against the notion of a recess while the voter ID bill was still in limbo.

“The Senate cannot leave DC without a vote on election integrity,” said Senator Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) on X on Friday. “Period.”

The Senate cannot leave DC without a vote on election integrity.

Period.

— Senator Ashley Moody (@SenAshleyMoody) August 7, 2026

“I voted NO on sending the Senate home. The American people sent us here to work for them, and I’m tired of Washington acting like getting the job done is someone else’s responsibility,” Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) wrote on X on Saturday.

I said I’d vote to stay through August recess and get our work done. I meant it.

I voted NO on sending the Senate home. The American people sent us here to work for them, and I’m tired of Washington acting like getting the job done is someone else’s responsibility.

— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) August 8, 2026

“What’s up with recess, anyway?” remarked Graham earlier this week. “Who gets a month off from work?”

If the filibuster is the only thing standing in the way of passing the SAVE America Act, then I'm a YES vote to end it.

There's too much at stake. Democrats refuse to protect our elections or our children from the transgender agenda.

It's time to get this done for President… pic.twitter.com/ToXK1n381W

— Darline Graham (@DarlineGrahamSC) August 3, 2026