Senate Republican leaders are used to headaches from Utah Sen. Mike Lee, but the battle is reaching an apex as Lee attempts to derail the August recess and force another vote on President Donald Trump’s priority voting bill.
Lee said that he planned to object to the upper chamber’s planned five-week August recess “until such a time as the Senate has passed the SAVE America Act.” On Monday, Trump joined Lee’s call and demanded that the Senate cancel recess to push through the bill. Those loud, and very online, efforts are part of a deepening rift between Trump and members of Senate leadership, who have little interest in keeping the conference in town to take a perilous vote only months before the midterm elections.
Top Senate Republicans not only believe those votes would be a waste of time, but they would be politically problematic. Staying in session would preclude incumbent senators from campaigning back home, though senators who vote to give themselves a long summer break might have a difficult time explaining themselves to constituents.