The previously proposed anti-weaponization fund, which the Administration backed away from, and the IRS immunity deal for the President's family and businesses reached by the Justice Department are still affecting the Senate agenda. Ahead of the Judiciary Committee meeting to vote on advancing the nomination of Todd Blanche as attorney general planned for Thursday, July 30 at 9 a.m., Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), both of whom are out of the midterm re-election race after some degree of conflict with the President, are pushing for the fund to be more formally put to rest and the deal clarified in exchange for their votes.

Meanwhile, a Senate Finance Committee markup to consider a bipartisan tax administration package reflecting the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act, introduced by Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) in February, has been scheduled for Thursday, July 30 at 10 a.m. despite Democratic members' concern over the audit immunity deal and their reported plans to offer a related amendment.

On July 28, the Senate confirmed, by a 51-47 vote, the nomination of Jay Clayton to be Director of National Intelligence.

Tax administration - The Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act scheduled for Finance Committee consideration includes provisions intended to:

• Digitize more tax returns
• Expand online accounts
• Streamline Chief Counsel reviews of offers-in-compromise
• Allow the U.S. Tax Court to hear cases relating to refunds and otherwise clarify the court's authority and jurisdiction
• Establish new tax preparer penalties
• Provide new authorization for the Office of Appeals

The Joint Committee on Taxation staff description is available here.

There has been the expectation that Democrats could still offer an amendment on the immunity deal, but it may not be consequential because of the Judiciary Committee's activity. Punchbowl News reported July 28, of the potential Finance amendment vote, "It's expected to fail as Republicans hope they can strike a deal with the Justice Department to narrow Trump's audit immunity without Congress getting involved legislatively. Those negotiations are happening to win over key GOP votes for attorney general nominee Todd Blanche."

Additional tax administration measures are being introduced. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) on July 27 introduced a bill (S. 5133) to modify the time for filing some information returns. A Daily Tax Report (DTR) story said the bill would require businesses to submit tax forms sent to taxpayers in January to the IRS at the same time, instead of March, allowing the IRS "to verify tax return information before refunds are issued, preventing criminals from filing fraudulent returns using stolen identities."

On Thursday, July 23, Finance Committee members Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the Strengthening EFIN Confirmation for User Reliability and Electronic (SECURE) Tax Filing Act (S. 5111), to require validation of electronic filing identification numbers used to electronically file tax returns and other documents. A release said the bill is intended to help the IRS crack down on scammers who are stealing sensitive taxpayer information from tax professionals by pretending to be tax software providers and tricking tax professionals into handing over Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs).

On July 28, Finance Committee member Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced four bills:

• S. 5141, to improve the notice and review procedure with respect to multi-year bans on claiming credits
• S. 5142, to improve the process for providing refunds to taxpayers
• S. 5143, to modify procedural requirements for penalties and disallowance periods
• S. 5144, to eliminate installment agreement fees for certain individuals

House Ways and Means Committee members have put forward several narrower tax administration bills, and there is some expectation that a compromise package with the Senate could be reached. These include:

• H.R. 2347, the Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act
• H.R. 7971, the Taxpayer Experience Improvement Act
• H.R. 7959, the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act
• H.R. 9496, the End Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act
• H.R. 9500, the Tax Relief for Fraud Victims Act
• H.R. 9498, the Taxpayer Advocate Participation Act
• H.R. 9501, the AI Tax Integrity Act of 2026
• H.R. 9499, the Protecting Taxpayers from Ghost Preparers Act
• H.R. 7972, the Taxpayer Workforce Modernization Act
• H.R. 6956, the Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act
• H.R. 6506, the Taxpayer Due Process Enhancement Act
• H.R. 6495, the Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act
• H.R. 5349, the Tax Court Improvement Act
• H.R. 5346, the Fair and Accountable IRS Reviews Act

Senate — Only the Senate is in session this week. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pushed back against assertions from President Trump and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) that the chamber should stay in session through the August recess to pass the SAVE America Act voter ID and citizenship bill, saying that without the requisite votes in place, doing so would be futile. With the 60-vote filibuster threshold in place — and insufficient support for repealing it — the only option for passing voter ID provisions is budget reconciliation, though in that scenario the strict budget rules would likely disqualify parts of the bill. Senator Tillis opposes that approach, and Leader Thune has otherwise said he doesn't have the votes for the House FY2027 budget.

"Show me how this ends," Leader Thune told reporters July 27, in a Politico story, "Thune tries to fend off Trump's war on the Senate recess," about the recess cancellation demand. "If we are going to be sitting here and in endless quorum calls, I don't know if that's in anybody's best interest." Senator Cornyn argued that setting up the process and failing could be costly to Republicans in the midterms. "The issue for Trump, conservative activists and their Hill allies is that there is a quiet majority of Senate Republicans who back the SAVE America Act but also oppose eliminating the filibuster and don't want to invite a deluge of criticism from the party base by advertising their position," the story said.

There were subsequent reports that the White House wants the Senate to expand the scope of the reconciliation effort. The House-passed budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 113) provides for a $95 billion bill with reconciliation instructions only to the Agriculture, Armed Services, Intelligence and House Administration committees (and not Ways and Means).

On Fox News July 27, Leader Thune noted that the Senate has held votes related to the SAVE Act, in whole and in part, multiple times. "The problem we have is we have no Democrats. The Democrats bloc-voted against it," he said, adding that near-term Senate business includes:

• Funding the government, through a continuing resolution (CR) into December, "and I think we're on a path to do that"
• Nominations, through consideration of an en bloc resolution
• the CLARITY Act digital assets bill, which he said is likely to get a vote on a motion to take up the bill, though Thune has said the Senate will not hold a passage vote on the bill before the recess.

In the aftermath of the death of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and services for him at the Capitol and the National Cathedral, Senate leaders are also processing a Russia sanctions bill on the floor (H.R. 5334) that Senator Graham had championed. The Senate invoked cloture on the motion to proceed to the sanctions bill on Tuesday, 86-12.

Asked whether he thought Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would hold out on the funding measure and shut down the government, Leader Thune said, "We'll see. I mean, I'm going to find out this week." Last week, the House passed a continuing resolution (CR) that extends government funding through December 4, but the Senate has been pursuing its own version.

A July 28 Semafor report said: "Senators say they are making headway in talks on a bipartisan bill funding the government through the election, even as rank-and-file Republicans doubt that Democratic leaders will go for it. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said that text of the stopgap funding bill could be released this week, and that she's been working with Democrats on it." The report said they are working on provisions "addressing the Trump administration's disclosure that it based some grant cancellations on political criteria last year … a move Collins supports and Democrats are seeking."

The en bloc nominations resolution, S. Res. 817, includes the four Treasury nominations approved by the Finance Committee last week.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is holding a hearing today (July 29) with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care has scheduled a hearing, "Building a Resilient Health Care Future with Biotechnology," for Tuesday, August 4 at 10 a.m.

Elections — A story in the July 28 Wall Street Journal, "Ex-Senator Faces Steep Climb to Win Back His Job," reported on the challenges former Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) faces in his race against Senator Jon Husted (R-OH), who was appointed to the seat formerly held by Vice President JD Vance. There are moderate-versus-progressive dynamics between Democrats in multiple races this year, and Brown's long tenure in Congress may be to his detriment amid sentiments against establishment leaders, the story suggested.