If it wasn't already clear, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) made it very clear this week that he doesn't intend to have the Senate take up Republican legislative priorities - not the SAVE America Act, and not keeping the government open.
As RedState reported on Tuesday:
On Tuesday night, the House passed a stopgap measure that calls for the funding of the federal government until December 4th. That's after the midterm elections, which means Republicans could avert a pre-election government shutdown, assuming the measure passes the Senate.
But that is not a done deal, of course, considering Democrats would love nothing better than to instigate another shutdown to try and pin on President Trump and congressional Republicans ahead of November:
Really, Democrats have no worries. Thune is doing their work for them, making it plain he has no interest in taking up the continuing resolution (CR) presented by House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-04). Thune has made it known that what Johnson and House Republicans offered as a solution to avert a government shutdown will not be given a showing on the Senate floor.
Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman spilled the tea on this, and Wednesday morning, fleshed out his points.
This CR doesn’t have any future in the senate, per John Thune, who said he’ll work with Dems on a funding bill. https://t.co/27lsRcDDCZ
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 21, 2026
☀️AM: Everything is once again a mess for Republican leaders on the hill.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 22, 2026
THUNE says he’ll never take up the JOHNSON’s CR and he’d rather work with democrats on one.
AS JOHNSON and his leadership team rush to get a budget blueprint out the door, THUNE says he’ll hold it up…
☀️AM: Everything is once again a mess for Republican leaders on the hill.
THUNE says he’ll never take up the JOHNSON’s CR and he’d rather work with democrats on one.
AS JOHNSON and his leadership team rush to get a budget blueprint out the door, THUNE says he’ll hold it up until he can figure government funding out — the cash-strapped pentagon could be waiting for months for money
THUNE says again he’d rather do a supplemental outside reconciliation
ALSO: senate poised to add tens of billions to reconciliation if they ever take it up - raising questions about if and how the house could handle it.
Once again, the two Republican leaders appear to be on different planets.
Read More: Crunch Time on Capitol Hill As Speaker Johnson Works Overtime to Rally Support for Reconciliation
House Advances Stopgap Funding Measure, but Senate Showdown Looms
Apparently. It is exactly what the American people don't want, and as Congress prepares to recess yet again, they will be hearing about it when they return to their states and especially on the campaign trail. Thune has played "Tommy Two-Face" too often, and his pretense at leadership while stabbing Republican and MAGA voters in the back, has worn thin.
Fox News Chief Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram has detailed what Speaker Johnson and the Republican House members worked hard to pull together in the CR, as well as their efforts to incorporate as much as they could of the SAVE America Act. Buried in Pergram's very informative X post (detailed below) he also asserts that Thune has no plans of backing the House's play.
But here’s the rub. House and Senate Republicans aren’t on the same page. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) says his body will likely consider the House approved government funding plan. But that needs 60 votes and is subject to a filibuster. Most Democrats will reject the House’s interim spending plan since they weren’t involved in drafting it.
But that’s where Reconciliation 3.0 comes in.
“We will hold that, subject to obviously, being able to move a continuing resolution to fund the government. It's a possibility, that if necessary, we could pull that, budget resolution passed by the House and use it to fund government,” said Thune when pressed by yours truly yesterday.
In other words, the Senate won’t take up the House’s Reconciliation 3.0 plan any time soon. Many Senate Republicans have been cool to another reconciliation plan from the get go. But Thune knows Senate Democrats will balk at the House’s stopgap spending bill. So he may use the reconciliation package to bypass Democrats and fund the government this fall.
Remember that reconciliation is NOT subject to a filibuster. Thus, 60 votes are unnecessary.
However, this is something of a negotiating tactic by Thune. He knows Democrats don’t want Republicans to pass their own spending plan via budget reconciliation. He also believes it’s a bad precedent to resort to reconciliation to pass appropriations bills to keep the government open. So, he will hold the ball for now.
During Tuesday's Senate leadership press conference, Thune laid out what the Senate's priorities will be before they head on another paid vacation. Reconciliation 3.0 was not even mentioned.
WATCH:
The country has already seen too much disruption in the past year, with two record-breaking shutdowns.
— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) July 21, 2026
I believe it is in everyone’s best interests to pass a clean continuing resolution as quickly as possible so the American people can have confidence that the government will be… pic.twitter.com/KlmODDxbt6
Americans really aren't interested in this gamesmanship, or how the sausage is made; they want sausages, preferably grilled properly and served hot. Thune and his leadership team relish the gamesmanship, and seem to think pointing to their efforts is a fine excuse for actual progress.
Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb," comes to mind: “Your lips move, but I can't hear what you're saying.”
Chad Pergram's complete thread. Read it and weep.
1) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the GOP’s Gambit to Pass Reconciliation 3.0, Pay for the War in Iran, Fund the Government and Pass the Save America Act (To Say Nothing of Banning Members from Trading Stocks)
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 22, 2026
Late Sen. John Warner (R-VA) said to me once that “we don’t do a lot in…
1) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the GOP’s Gambit to Pass Reconciliation 3.0, Pay for the War in Iran, Fund the Government and Pass the Save America Act (To Say Nothing of Banning Members from Trading Stocks)
Late Sen. John Warner (R-VA) said to me once that “we don’t do a lot in Congress. But when we do it, we do it all at once.”
That is kind of where we find the House of Representatives today.
Today is the penultimate day in the House before the August recess. In fact, the House may not be here much at all until after the election.
So that’s why the House is trying to cram EVERYTHING into today.
Let’s start with what the House approved late last night. It approved a stopgap spending bill, renewing all funding at current levels to avoid a fall shutdown in October. The bill would run through December 4.
Fiscal conservatives liked the bill because it “kind of” saves money by simply renewing the current spending. By nature, these temporary bills do just that. They don’t add in new spending. So – in a way – that kind of holds the fiscal bottom line.
But looming over everything is the touchstone of the GOP’s agenda. That’s the SAVE America Act. The House today plans to advance a budget framework and prospectively include the SAVE America Act later on. The Senate must also adopt the same framework so it can use the special budget reconciliation process – which is immune from filibusters. But the House and Senate can’t get to the meat and potatoes of the bill without adopting the framework. That’s why today is so important.
What’s in “Reconciliation 3.0?” House Republicans will likely dump the SAVE America Act into actual bill. They will also load up the bill with tens of billions to cover the war in Iran and restock the Pentagon with munitions. Money for agriculture programs will be in there, too.
But here’s the rub. House and Senate Republicans aren’t on the same page. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) says his body will likely consider the House approved government funding plan. But that needs 60 votes and is subject to a filibuster. Most Democrats will reject the House’s interim spending plan since they weren’t involved in drafting it.
But that’s where Reconciliation 3.0 comes in.
“We will hold that, subject to obviously, being able to move a continuing resolution to fund the government. It's a possibility, that if necessary, we could pull that, budget resolution passed by the House and use it to fund government,” said Thune when pressed by yours truly yesterday.
In other words, the Senate won’t take up the House’s Reconciliation 3.0 plan any time soon. Many Senate Republicans have been cool to another reconciliation plan from the get go. But Thune knows Senate Democrats will balk at the House’s stopgap spending bill. So he may use the reconciliation package to bypass Democrats and fund the government this fall.
Remember that reconciliation is NOT subject to a filibuster. Thus, 60 votes are unnecessary.
However, this is something of a negotiating tactic by Thune. He knows Democrats don’t want Republicans to pass their own spending plan via budget reconciliation. He also believes it’s a bad precedent to resort to reconciliation to pass appropriations bills to keep the government open. So, he will hold the ball for now.
This means that money to plus-up depleted programs and pay for the war in Iran is stalled for months. Maybe until at least December. That could be a problem at the Pentagon if the conflict drifts on.
Finally, the House plans to vote on a separate bill today to ban its Members from trading stocks. Congress passed – and President Obama signed into law – the STOCK Act 14 years ago. That law prohibits lawmakers and aides from using “inside information” collected on the job to play the market.
However, today’s bill goes a step further. It outright prohibits House Members from trading stocks.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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