Here are the conservative priorities stalled as the lame-duck session nears

The 119th Congress, with its Republican trifecta and broad coalition of support, was supposed to be a boon for the conservative agenda. But the time for both chambers to get anything further done is essentially over, as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has adjourned the House through the November midterm elections, and the Senate faces gridlock over top priorities in its remaining two weeks.

While Republicans have accomplished some of the things they set out to do — like last year’s tax cuts — the early departure means a slew of conservative priorities remain undone and face an uncertain future when the lame-duck Congress returns. Even though the House has passed some of the following bills, if the Senate seeks to change anything, the lower chamber must return to vote on the changes before the bill can become law.

Dan West , director of government relations for Heritage Action , said that although there were some bills they had been pushing for that will not get done, Republicans in Congress had accomplished enough to set them apart from Democrats ahead of the election. He added that Heritage Action will continue pushing for their remaining priorities in the lame-duck.

“We are disappointed that the House left Washington with key wins still on the table to heighten contrast with Democrats,” West said. “Though we wish more had been done, the contrast between common sense versus crazy is abundantly clear. The composition of the next Congress will determine if the America First agenda continues legislatively. The GOP is only guaranteed an America First trifecta in this moment.”

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act — a bill to tighten up requirements for voters to prove their identities at the polls and President Trump ’s top priority all year — still has yet to head to his desk. That’s a loss for many in Trump’s closest circles, who were pushing for the SAVE America Act in time for the midterm elections.

The House has passed the bill, but it’s failed multiple times in the upper chamber, since it does not have the needed 60 votes to overcome the Senate filibuster. Trump has been pushing the Senate’s leaders for months to overturn the filibuster so the bill can pass without support from Democrats, which Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has said he will not do.

Thune opted not to cancel the Senate’s August recess to chase after SAVE America votes. The Senate has two weeks left before they, too, leave until after Election Day, but with a sought-after bipartisan college sports bill, some high-profile nominations and other legislation they want to work through, it’s not likely that SAVE America gets through the chamber before the elections.

The GOP’s most significant victory of this Congress — which they’re leaning on for midterm messaging — was a package of tax cuts that passed through reconciliation, a process by which a bill only needs 50 votes in the Senate instead of 60, thus avoiding the filibuster. But that “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” as Trump originally called it, wasn’t the end of Republicans’ aims. They also muscled through a $70 billion package in June to fund the immigration enforcement agencies that had been skipped in a contentious government funding process.

Some conservatives were still holding out hope for a third reconciliation bill, containing measures that would address high consumer prices and other priorities like battling fraud in public services and government waste. The House passed a framework for another package in late July, containing money to incentivize states to adopt the SAVE America Act, funds for the Iran war and some farm aid. But it faced steep odds in the Senate at the time, and even steeper now that reconciliation won’t be needed as a mechanism to fund the government.

Chip Wyatt , director of government relations at Heritage Action, said in a statement he is still pushing for the Senate to take up the House-passed reconciliation framework.

“The Senate still has time to advance the America Opportunity agenda, though the House has skipped town,” Wyatt said.

Privacy hawks lost much hope of a win on digital banking reform when the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act last week. That bill would create a regulatory structure for the cryptocurrency market, but it also contained a permanent ban on “central bank digital currency” (CBDC), which some conservatives have pushed for out of concern that allowing the government to create a CBDC would allow it to spy on Americans’ financial transactions.

“Central Bank Digital Currency would equate to handing the government a ledger of every single transaction you make and giving it the power to freeze, throttle, or condition your money (similar to Canada freezing the bank accounts of trucker protestors and China’s use of a so-called ‘social credit score’),” wrote a spokesperson for the Conservative Partnership Institute in a statement after the Senate vote on Clarity. “Until Congress enacts a CBDC ban, the surveillance state door is open.”

Congress has also been unable to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the nation’s warrantless spy power authority, which lapsed in June. Privacy-minded conservatives have been clamoring for months to get reforms that prevent accidental searches of Americans’ data — including even attaching a CBDC ban — on any reauthorization, but even a negotiated bipartisan product to do so flopped in the Senate over a controversial temporary appointment to the top intelligence post.

Many Republicans across the board want to use whatever time they have left in power to fully fund the Pentagon, boost spending on the war in Iran specifically and push through some wins in the national security sector. While reconciliation is one avenue to do so, another is the annual Pentagon policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Both chambers have a version, but the Senate’s is stalled as Democrats refused to advance the $1.5 trillion package over a partisan fight about spending levels.

The House, meanwhile, was working on its own version before leaving town.

West, from Heritage Action, also mentioned other bills related to national security that are stalled now that the House is gone, including the Chip Security Act, AI Overwatch Act and MATCH Act, all of which are focused on protecting the national technological advantage against China.

Conservatives in the family policy space were hoping to see more aggressive action from Republicans in Congress on anti-abortion measures, especially re-upping a temporary ban — enacted last year — on federal funds going to Planned Parenthood through Medicaid.

It’s already been illegal for 50 years for federal funds, including Medicaid, to pay for abortions. And some states, due to a 2025 Supreme Court decision, can exclude certain providers from being reimbursed through Medicaid. But Republicans last year put a one-year federal ban in their tax package, blocking federal reimbursement for other services like contraceptives, treatments for sexually transmitted infections and cancer screenings if performed at Planned Parenthood and some similar clinics.

Conservatives want that ban, which ran out over the summer, to be made permanent. The goal is to squeeze the sources of revenue for Planned Parenthood, and other clinics that also provide abortion services.

“Fifty years ago, the Hyde Amendment prevented federal tax dollars from directly funding abortion for the first time,” said Gavin Oxley , spokesperson for anti-abortion advocacy group Americans United for Life .

“Where pro-life members of Congress expanded this legacy by defunding abortion providers last year, they are now leaving money on the table for the abortion industry instead of cashing in political capital gained from defending the most popular pro-life protection of all time.”

Welcome to The Movement , a weekly newsletter looking at the influences and debates on the right in Washington. I’m Helen Huiskes, Senate reporter.

Send me tips, comments, and suggestions: hhuiskes@thehill.com

HAWLEY URGES GOP TO PUSH FOR PRO-LIFE POLICIES

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is staking out his ground as the Senate’s anti-abortion leader, while declining a 2028 spotlight.

Hawley, while hosting the first Missouri Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol last week alongside dozens of pastors, announced a pledge he was leading and urged other Republicans to sign to push for enacting policies that restrict abortion. One move in his sights: a crackdown on mifepristone, the abortion drug.

“We think that this declaration written by pastors calling on spiritual leaders and everyday Christians across America to stand for life and to confront the scourge of chemical abortion is so critical on this 250th anniversary,” Hawley said at the event.

Hawley has emphasized the anti-abortion part of his platform since entering the Senate in 2019. But now he’s doubling down, very publicly, as anti-abortion groups have at times said they felt that the Trump administration is moving on from them.

He’s also looking to get Republican-elected officials and candidates to make firm commitments to the cause. Hawley said he hasn’t seen serious movement on some of his top anti-abortion priorities in the Senate like he wants.

“My observation is that when it comes to elected officials in Congress that there hasn’t been much will to do much of anything to protect the innocent and unborn, and I think we’ve got to change that,” Hawley said at the event.

A next generation of Trump appointees, though, spell optimism for the mifepristone fight. Heidi Overton , a White House health policy aide who has written critically of the practice while at America First Policy Institute , will get a hearing in the Senate this week for her nomination to lead the Food and Drug Administration , right as that agency is reviewing the safety of mifepristone.

And Attorney General Todd Blanche , in advance of his own confirmation in July, pledged to leaders in the anti-abortion movement privately that he will review a Biden-era policy that allows the pill to be sent by mail to states where abortion is illegal.

Even with support from key figures in the administration, anti-abortion groups will likely be watching whoever wants to become the next Republican president for his or her record on banning mifepristone and restricting funding to Planned Parenthood for good.

“I have no intention of doing so,” he told the Washington Examiner last week when asked about a run .

More here from my colleague Alexander Bolton .

Americans for Prosperity Action is now spending $7 million more, on top of $5.3 million they announced last week, on digital advertising supporting battleground Republicans in Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio and Michigan. Their goal is to contrast the Republicans with the Democratic Socialists of America . An example of a Michigan ad .

Advancing American Freedom , former Vice President Mike Pence’ s group, is launching a pair of new programs under the Long View Leadership Initiative . One is a fellows program, focused on early and mid-career professionals, and another will help get reading groups started on college campuses. Both are structured around reading texts and discussing conservative ideas.

An appeals court reinstated a Republican map for redistricting in Missouri, a boost for some Republican candidates who will now face more favorable odds in the November elections. More here .

Nikole Hannah-Jones in The New York Times Magazine: In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?

Jack Butler in The Wall Street Journal Opinion: Let Others Eat Cake