WASHINGTON — The Senate bolted for the exits Wednesday as the chamber abandoned work on cybersecurity legislation and headed home for an almost five-week vacation, leaving the bulk of this year’s business for a tumultuous session this fall.
Senate leaders reached a deal to expedite a debate next month on legislation to disapprove President Obama’s nuclear weapons deal with Iran, with the main question being whether there will be enough Democratic votes to sustain an expected veto. With that, the cybersecurity measure was shelved, for now, leaving a failed attempt to bring up a measure to “defund” Planned Parenthood as the only roll call vote of the week.
“There will be no further roll call votes this week,” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said before a mostly empty Senate. Democratic counterpart Harry Reid of Nevada blessed the plan and expressed hope that the hotly politicized Iran debate in September will be “dignified, befitting the gravity of the issue.”
As the Senate’s gas tank approached empty for the summer, the day’s chief achievements included approval of ambassadors to Nicaragua, Norway and the Kyrgyz Republic and new members of boards overseeing chemical and nuclear weapons safety. The Senate also approved the nominations of the next members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — Gen. Mark A. Milley to be Chief of Staff of the Army, Adm. John M. Richardson to be Chief of Naval Operations and Lt. Gen. Robert B. Neller to be general and commandant of the Marine Corps.
The cybersecurity legislation is likely to be revived but other matters are likely to dominate the fall. They include keeping the government running past an Oct. 1 deadline, welcoming Pope Francis for an address before a joint meeting of Congress and the Cabinet, and finding a way to free must-do spending bills and pass legislation increasing the government’s debt limit.
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