2026-07-13T09:35:23-0400 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
作者：凯特琳·伊利克 政治记者
凯特琳·伊利克是哥伦比亚广播公司新闻网驻华盛顿特区的政治记者。她曾供职于《华盛顿考察家报》和《国会山报》，并入选2022年美国国家新闻基金会保罗·米勒华盛顿报道奖学金项目。
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华盛顿讯—— 国会将于本周一返回华盛顿，在为期漫长的八月休会和中期选举冲刺之前，可供处理多项优先事项的时间有限，而参议员林赛·格雷厄姆的突然去世正笼罩着国会山。
格雷厄姆享年71岁，于周六晚间逝世，这一消息在华盛顿乃至全美引发震动。如今，他的共和党同僚们正沉浸在失去一位挚友和关键白宫联络人的悲痛之中，而与此同时，他们的立法议程一再被宾夕法尼亚大道另一端的执政党阻挠。
休会前，特朗普总统就一项名为《拯救美国法案》的选举监管法案过度聚焦，加剧了共和党内部的分歧。他对该法案的执着——该法案在参议院缺乏足够的共和党支持——破坏了两院其他共和党优先事项的推进，几乎使众议院的立法工作陷入瘫痪。
共和党议员内部还就总统对伊朗战争的处理方式、司法部18亿美元“反武器化”基金的搁置计划以及白宫大型新宴会厅的拨款问题产生了越来越多的分歧。随后，总统有争议的临时情报负责人提名破坏了一项关键的无 warrant 监控计划的延期。
如今参众两院回归后，可用时间有限，需要收拾残局，而共和党多数党正努力在中期选举前将他们的优先立法事项推进到底。众议院在议员开始为期五周的休会前仅剩八个工作日，而参议院原计划将在华盛顿办公至八月第一周。
《拯救美国法案》
众议院议长迈克·约翰逊面临的最紧迫问题是如何绕过党内强硬派在议会设置的阻挠，这些强硬派要求参议院通过《拯救美国法案》。
由佛罗里达州众议员安娜·保利娜·卢纳领导的这些议员在上月末阻止了多数立法进程。他们誓言将坚持到底，直到该法案在参议院通过，而参议院领导层一再强调该法案缺乏必要的支持票数。为安抚持反对意见的议员，约翰逊提议将《拯救美国法案》与年度国防政策法案《国防授权法》合并，再提交参议院。但强硬派议员投票反对推进这一计划。
这场僵局导致约翰逊让众议院提前结束独立日休会。随着议会复会，副总统JD·万斯将于周二出席众议院共和党会议，以期推动立法进程。
尽管众议院已通过多项版本的选举法案，但特朗普总统推动该法案进一步强化，加入禁止邮寄投票和跨性别运动员参加女子体育赛事的条款。约翰逊告诉福克斯新闻，总统明白禁止邮寄选票“要求过高”。
约翰逊表示，通过该立法“紧迫性极高”，众议院将“再试一次”通过党派路线的预算和解程序批准该法案——但这一方式本身也存在诸多障碍。
和解方案3.0
特朗普总统呼吁国会无需民主党支持，通过预算和解程序通过一项支出法案，其中包含3500亿美元国防拨款和《拯救美国法案》。上周在Truth Social的一篇帖子中，总统称参众两院领导层必须“将此作为首要任务”，并要求国会回归后预算委员会立即推进相关工作。
尽管一些关键参议院共和党人对此表示严重怀疑，众议院共和党人仍在推进这项和解法案，这将是本届国会第三次此类尝试。
在参议院，包括参议院拨款委员会主席缅因州参议员苏珊·柯林斯在内的多名共和党人对再次启动和解程序的可能性泼了冷水。参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩也表达了疑虑，指出参议院的微弱多数优势因格雷厄姆的去世和肯塔基州参议员米奇·麦康奈尔因健康问题长期缺席而进一步收窄。
格雷厄姆的去世让前路变得格外复杂。作为参议院预算委员会主席，格雷厄姆曾推动前两项和解程序在参议院启动，本应领导此次新的和解努力。
布兰奇与克莱顿的确认听证会
参议院共和党人本周将推进司法部长和国家情报总监的确认程序。
代理司法部长托德·布兰奇将于周三出席参议院司法委员会的确认听证会，这场听证会原本就充满争议。一些共和党人对“反武器化”基金等问题表示担忧，并威胁要撤回支持。格雷厄姆的去世让共和党在司法委员会的优势席位进一步缩小。
同样在周三，参议院情报委员会将为杰伊·克莱顿举行国家情报总监提名的确认听证会。特朗普总统在六月破坏了原计划，要求议员们首先确认纽约南区联邦检察官的新提名，而这正是克莱顿目前担任的职位。
参议院上月曾试图迅速确认克莱顿的提名，以期结束因特朗普临时提名的国家情报总监办公室负责人比尔·普尔特尔引发的僵局，该僵局导致月初无 warrant 监控计划失效。
《外国情报监控法》延期
《外国情报监控法》第702条于6月12日失效，此前因普尔特尔的领导引发反对。此后，尽管外国情报监控法院已将该程序重新认证至次年三月，但围绕失效的影响仍存在争议，不过对潜在国家安全风险的担忧依然存在。
甚至在普尔特尔的任命使延期进程复杂化之前，该法律就已波折不断：两党中关注公民自由的议员都要求对无 warrant 要求进行改革。这些要求导致国会在该法案原定于四月到期前两次推迟表决。
议员们曾达成两党协议，将监控权限延期三年，并表示该协议本应获得足够支持通过，但特朗普总统打乱了计划。随着克莱顿的提名确认，议员们也希望能为推进该计划扫清障碍。
但总统的态度仍可能成为阻碍。除了要求先确认克莱顿的继任者，特朗普还将监控权限延期与《拯救美国法案》挂钩，威胁称若不附加该选举法案，他将不会签署该延期法案。
《国防授权法》
国会领导层还计划在未来几周通过必须通过的国防政策法案《国防授权法》。参议院希望最快在本周推进该法案，但随着与伊朗冲突升级，民主党人的反对威胁到该法案的推进。
参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默周一在给同事的一封信中表示，共和党人“正推动推进年度《国防授权法》，却拒绝就总统臃肿的党派性最高预算请求进行谈判”。民主党夏威夷州参议员布莱恩·沙茨周末表示，他将投票反对推进该法案，理由是该法案为伊朗战争和国防开支提供授权。他补充道：“我通常会投票支持《国防授权法》，但这次对我来说是明确的选择。”
众议院本周目前没有再次审议《国防授权法》的计划。
俄罗斯制裁提案
议员们本周或将就一项搁置已久的俄罗斯制裁法案采取行动，以纪念格雷厄姆——这位外交政策鹰派人物曾推动将制裁作为结束俄罗斯对乌克兰战争的一部分。
周五，格雷厄姆宣布他与一群参议员已与特朗普政府达成协议，推进一项更新后的制裁方案。该方案将对与俄罗斯开展业务的国家实施制裁和关税，包括购买俄罗斯石油的国家。
格雷厄姆推动这项制裁提案已有一年多时间。但参议院共和党人数月来一直等待政府的批准。周日，议员们在格雷厄姆突然去世后向其致敬，两党同僚都敦促参议院领导层为纪念格雷厄姆而推进该制裁法案。众议院议员们承诺将在众议院提出该法案。
参与与白宫达成制裁协议的新罕布什尔州民主党参议员珍妮·沙欣表示，这是格雷厄姆“最具影响力的努力之一”。
“没有什么比通过这项立法，实现他长期以来的愿景——建立一个独立、安全的乌克兰，更适合作为林赛的纪念，纪念他的遗产和他为之奋斗的事业，”她说。
贾拉·布朗为本报道撰稿。
Congress returns with lengthy to-do list as Lindsey Graham’s death hangs over Capitol Hill
2026-07-13T09:35:23-0400 / CBS News
By Caitlin Yilek Politics Reporter
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
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Washington — Congress is returning to Washington on Monday facing limited time to address a number of priorities ahead of a lengthy August recess and the sprint to the midterm elections, while the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham hangs over Capitol Hill.
Graham, who was 71, died Saturday evening, sending shockwaves through Washington and beyond. Now, his GOP colleagues are coping with the loss of a friend and key White House liaison at a time when their agenda has been repeatedly stalled by the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Before the recess, President Trump poured fuel on internal divisions within the Republican Party over his focus on a voting regulations bill known as the SAVE America Act. His fixation on the bill — which lacks enough GOP support in the Senate — has undermined unrelated Republican priorities in both chambers and nearly paralyzed legislative business in the House.
There was also growing dissent among Republican lawmakers over the president’s handling of the Iran war, now-stalled plans for the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and funding for a massive new ballroom at the White House. Then, the president’s controversial pick for temporary intelligence chief scuttled an extension of a key warrantless surveillance program.
The House and Senate now return with limited time to pick up the pieces, as the GOP majorities work to get their priorities across the finish line before the midterms. The House has just eight remaining days in session before lawmakers begin their five-week recess, while the Senate is scheduled to be in Washington through the first week of August.
SAVE America Act
The most pressing issue facing House Speaker Mike Johnson is how to navigate around a blockade on the floor by Republican hardliners who are demanding passage in the Senate of the SAVE America Act.
The members, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, prevented most legislation from moving forward late last month. They have vowed to hold firm until the measure passes the Senate, where leaders have repeatedly stressed that it lacks the necessary support. To appease holdouts, Johnson proposed merging the SAVE America Act with the annual defense policy bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, before sending it to the Senate. But the hardliners voted against moving forward on the plan.
The standoff led Johnson to send the House home early for the Fourth of July recess. As the chamber returns, Vice President JD Vance is set to attend the House GOP conference meeting on Tuesday as they look to move forward.
Though the House has passed various versions of the elections measure, Mr. Trump has pushed for the legislation to go further and include bans on mail-in voting and transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports. Johnson told Fox News that the president understands the mail ballot prohibition “is a bigger reach.”
Johnson said there’s a “big urgency” in passing the legislation and the House would “try one more time” to approve the measure via the party-line budget reconciliation process — which would pose its own obstacles.
Reconciliation 3.0
Mr. Trump has called on Congress to approve a spending bill without the help of Democrats through the budget reconciliation process, with $350 billion in defense funding and the SAVE America Act. In a Truth Social post last week, the president said House and Senate leadership must “make this their Number One Priority,” requesting progress in the Budget Committee upon Congress’ return.
House Republicans have been pushing to move forward on the reconciliation bill, which would be the third such effort this Congress, despite serious expressions of doubt from some key Senate Republicans.
In the upper chamber, a number of Republicans, like top appropriator Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, have thrown cold water on the possibility of another reconciliation bill. And Senate Majority Leader John Thune has expressed skepticism, pointing to the chamber’s tight margins that have grown even slimmer with Graham’s death and the prolonged absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky due to health issues.
The path forward is especially complicated by Graham’s passing. As chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Graham kickstarted the process in the upper chamber for the first two reconciliation bills, and would have led the new effort in the Senate.
Blanche and Clayton confirmation hearings
Senate Republicans are pushing forward with the confirmation process for both attorney general and director of national intelligence this week.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing, which was already poised to be contentious. Some Republicans have voiced concern about the “anti-weaponization” fund, among other issues, and threatened to withhold support. Graham’s death leaves Republicans with a slimmer margin on the Judiciary Committee.
Also on Wednesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton to be director of national intelligence. Mr. Trump torpedoed the original plans in June, demanding that senators first move forward on confirming a new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, the position Clayton currently holds.
The Senate had sought to quickly confirm Clayton last month with the hope of ending the stalemate over a warrantless surveillance program that lapsed earlier in the month after Mr. Trump’s temporary pick to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte, rattled lawmakers.
FISA reauthorization
Lawmakers are still grappling with Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, after it expired on June 12 amid opposition to Pulte’s leadership. Since then, there’s been debate over the effects of the lapse given that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court recertified the program through March. But concerns about potential national security risks remain.
Even before Pulte’s appointment complicated its path to renewal, the law was already on a bumpy path as civil liberties-minded lawmakers in both parties demanded reforms on warrant requirements. The demands led Congress to punt the issue twice since it was initially set to expire in April.
Lawmakers reached a bipartisan deal to extend the surveillance authority for three years that they said would have more than enough support for passage before Mr. Trump disrupted the plans. With Clayton’s confirmation, lawmakers are also hoping to unlock a path forward.
But the president’s will could still stand in the way. In addition to the demand that Clayton’s replacement be installed, Mr. Trump also linked the renewal of the surveillance authority to the SAVE America Act, threatening not to sign it without the election bill attached.
NDAA
Congressional leaders are also aiming to approve the must-pass defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act in the coming weeks. The Senate is hoping to make progress on the bill as soon as this week, but opposition from Democrats amid the renewed conflict with Iran is threatening its path forward.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a letter to colleagues on Monday that Republicans are “pushing to advance the annual NDAA while refusing to negotiate on the president’s bloated, partisan topline budget request.” Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said over the weekend that he would vote against advancing the bill, citing authorization for the Iran war and defense spending. He added, “I usually vote yes on NDAA but this is an easy call for me.”
The House is not currently scheduled to take up the NDAA again this week.
Russia sanctions push
Lawmakers are pushing for action on a long-stalled Russia sanctions bill as soon as this week as they look to honor Graham, a foreign policy hawk who had championed the sanctions effort as part of a push to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
On Friday, Graham announced that he and a group of senators had reached an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward with an updated sanctions package. The package would impose sanctions and tariffs on countries doing business with Russia, including those that buy Russian oil.
Graham had been pushing for the sanctions for more than a year. But Senate Republicans waited for months for the go-ahead from the administration. As lawmakers paid tribute to Graham on Sunday following his sudden death, his colleagues on both sides of the aisle urged Senate leaders to move ahead on the sanctions bill in his honor. House colleagues pledged to introduce the bill in the lower chamber.
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who was part of the agreement reached with the White House on the sanctions bill, said it was one of Graham’s “most consequential efforts.”
“There can be no more fitting memorial to Lindsey, his legacy, or the causes he fought for than to pass this legislation and realize his long-held dream of an independent and secure Ukraine,” she said.
Jaala Brown contributed to this report.