Congress is gone. Chaos awaits in September – POLITICO

IN TODAY’S EDITION:
— Why funding talks are going to be a mess
— Crapo’s tax talks
— TSA fights Senate facial recognition bill

The Senate’s gone, and it’s officially August recess. Things may calm down the next few weeks but chaos awaits in September.

Here’s the tough to-do list lawmakers have to deal with next month.

Government funding fight: The Senate passed an initial batch of government funding bills Friday. But don’t get too comfortable.

As Jennifer Scholtes, Katherine Tully-McManus and Jordain Carney lay out this morning, competing factions in Washington are making ultimatums that could be hard to reconcile in the month-long window Congress has to avoid a shutdown when it comes back in early September. A short-term funding extension – rather than a full-year appropriations agreement – is almost guaranteed.

The list of issues is growing. House conservatives say GOP leaders promised no funding increases. Dozens of Republicans are demanding earmarks. Democrats are weighing demands including the re-upping of Obamacare funding. And while the Senate has pursued bipartisan appropriations negotiations, House Republicans have been side-stepping Democrats.

The White House itself is a huge wildcard, with budget director Russ Vought signaling plans to sabotage bipartisan funding talks and privately strategizing with members of the Freedom Caucus and Senate conservatives.

“It’s a lot of uncharted territory here in terms of the posture of the minority and the majority, and the president’s priorities,” Sen. Thom Tillis says. “If you like chaos, then you’re seeing a lot of it.”

Schumer and Trump: The Senate on its way out failed to reach a bipartisan agreement that would have expedited the confirmation of many of President Donald Trump’s nominees. The episode appeared to mark an escalation by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer when it comes to hardball tactics he’s willing to employ to derail Trump’s agenda. It’s worth watching whether the vibe carries over to government funding talks.

“He went home with nothing,” Schumer said of Trump Saturday night.

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