Final votes before midterms

Thune plots final votes before midterms

Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s pre-election to-do list is relatively light.

By Jordain Carney and Calen Razor

The Senate is — finally — on the verge of making a great escape.

After last week’s decision to stick around and try to make headway on a number of GOP priorities, Senate Republicans could leave town as soon as Wednesday, according to several senators and aides.

A long-sought permitting vote isn’t happening (more on that below), so John Thune’s pre-election to-do list is relatively light.

It starts with final passage of the bipartisan bill overhauling the college sports industry, which is expected Monday night. But the idea that a sports bill could be the last item of Senate business before Election Day has some optics-minded GOP senators grumbling.

“People are worried about the cost of living, I don’t know how else to say it,” said an increasingly vocal Sen. John Kennedy. “We just haven’t addressed it.”

Enter the GOP’s two-for-one special: They’re bringing up a House-passed bill — the Ratepayer Protection Act — aimed at curbing data-center-driven utility cost hikes. They hope the vote will divide Democrats on a hot-button issue and give endangered Sen. Jon Husted something to tout back home in Ohio.

Thune is expected to tee up the bill Monday night for a vote Wednesday. A Schumer spokesperson said over the weekend the bill “falls short” and said Democrats would seek a “stronger standard.”

Blocking a data-center bill wouldn’t make for great headlines for Democrats. On the other hand, they’re in no mood to do favors for Husted, who is facing ex-Sen. Sherrod Brown on Nov. 3.

Also on the agenda: Republicans are discussing votes on measures from Husted and Sen. Pete Ricketts, who is in his own competitive race in Nebraska, to roll back California’s stricter standards for vehicle emissions.

They’re also likely to vote on a House-passed bill to curb lawmaker stock trading. The stock trading bill is being led by Ricketts, and it includes voter ID requirements that have been championed by Husted.

And while Sen. Kevin Cramer removed his hold on one more nominee — Chris Klomp for deputy health secretary — the Senate isn’t expected to vote on that nomination this week.

Cramer is maintaining his broader nominee blockade over Fish and Wildlife regulations — meaning Labor secretary nominee Keith Sonderling and other picks are likely to wait until November.