Lawmakers have left Washington for the annual August recess, but a few weeks of relative quiet at the U.S. Capitol can't mask the partisan tensions that are brewing on government funding and President Donald Trump's nominees. It could make for a momentous September. On government funding, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries sent their Republican counterparts a sharply-worded letter Monday calling for a meeting this week. They said it will take bipartisanship to avert a "painful, unnecessary shutdown." On nominees, Republicans are considering changes to Senate rules to get more of Trump's nominees confirmed.

The House is leaving Washington early as Republicans clash over the Jeffrey Epstein files. House Speaker Mike Johnson is rebuffing pressure to act on the investigation into Epstein as some Republicans push for a vote on the matter. Johnson said Tuesday morning that he wants to give the White House "space" to release the Epstein information on its own. The speaker's stance seemed unlikely to satisfy many Republicans who are threatening to support a bipartisan bill to pry information from the Justice Department. Even before Johnson spoke, a Republican-controlled committee was advancing a resolution to subpoena Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Senate Republicans are working to slightly scale back President Donald Trump's request to cancel $9.4 billion in previously approved spending. The changes are designed to build momentum for the package before a key test vote on Tuesday. The amended package will remove proposed cuts to a program known as PEPFAR that is credited with saving millions of lives since its creation under then-President George W. Bush to combat HIV/AIDS. Trump is looking to claw back money for foreign aid programs targeted by his Department of Government Efficiency and for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The change to save the PEPFAR funding will preserve about $400 million that the administration had sought to cancel.

Conservative lawmakers are heading to the White House to discuss President Donald Trump's tax breaks and spending cuts bill. Many are criticizing the legislation as straying from the party's fiscal goals. But Trump and House Republican leaders are determined to get it over the finish line and say the time for changes is over. House Republican leaders want a Wednesday vote on Trump's bill, just one day after it cleared the Senate. The bill would extend and make permanent various individual and business tax breaks Republicans passed in Trump's first term, plus temporarily add new tax breaks, such as no income taxes on tips and overtime.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says Republicans "got the job done" in passing President Donald Trump's big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts. Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie for Republicans on Tuesday after a tense overnight session. The bill goes back to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson had against big revisions from his chamber's version. But senators did make changes, particularly to Medicaid health care. Still, Johnson vows to send it to Trump's desk by his July Fourth deadline. Three Republican senators joined all Democrats in voting against the bill, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the decade.

Senators are hunkering down to consider proposed amendments to President Donald Trump's big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts. The grind is expected to take all day Monday in what's called a vote-a-rama and could churn into the night. Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledges final action could slip. The White House says it's counting on Republican lawmakers to "get the job done." With Democrats united against the Republican president's legislation, they are proposing dozens of changes, all likely to fail. Republicans are racing to meet Trump's Fourth of July deadline to pass the bill. The House is being called back to session for votes as soon as Wednesday, if the Senate can pass the bill.

Senate Republicans appear to have President Donald Trump's big bill back on track after a flurry of last-minute revisions. But there's still a long way to go. Trump himself gave Congress some breathing room as senators race to meet his Fourth of July deadline, saying that date is "not the end all." With their majority control of Congress, Republicans are trying to push the package past unified Democratic opposition. To do so, they are working through a punch list of still-unsettled issues, including Medicaid health care cuts. Republicans are relying on steep reductions in programs to help pay for $3.8 trillion in tax breaks.

House Republicans have unveiled the cost-saving centerpiece of President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill." The legislation tallies hundreds of pages and involves at least $880 billion in cuts largely to Medicaid, the nation's health care program for more than 70 million Americans. The savings are needed to help cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks. But it's setting off the biggest political fight over health care since Republicans tried but failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act during Trump's first term. Democrats warn millions of Americans will lose coverage. And one Republican, Sen. Josh Hawley, warned his colleagues in an op-ed Monday that cutting health care to pay for tax breaks would be "morally wrong and politically suicidal."