This Week in the Senate: 7/22/2019

This week, the Senate is holding votes on four nominations and one bill, and the Judiciary Committee will hold an executive business meeting to consider one bill.

Floor Action:
Monday:

• The Senate will vote at 5:30 pm to invoke cloture on the nomination of Secretary of the Army Mark Esper to be Secretary of Defense.

Tuesday:

• If cloture is invoked on the Esper nomination, the Senate will vote to confirm it at 12:00 pm, and then there will be a cloture vote on the nomination of former Delta Airlines executive Stephen Dickson to be Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. At 2:30 pm, there will be a series of three votes on H.R. 1327, a bill which extends the provisions of the Zadroga Act through Fiscal Year 2092.

Wednesday:

• A confirmation vote on the Dickson nomination will occur at 11:00 am. Then, the Senate will vote to invoke cloture on the nomination of Judge Wendy Williams Berger of the Fifth District Court of Appeal to be a judge of the Middle District of Florida. Berger would fill a judicial emergency from 2015 and is vigorously opposed by many liberal legal groups due to positions taken in various abortion-related cases. In another case, she ordered a defendant's mouth taped shut during his trial. Next, there will be a cloture vote on the nomination of Kutak Rock partner Brian Buescher to be a judge of the District of Nebraska, filling a vacancy from December 2018. Buescher is opposed by many Democrats due to his vocal opposition to abortion as a past political candidate. At 3:00 pm, there will be confirmation votes on the Berger and Buescher nominations.

Thursday:

• No votes planned.

On Wednesday, the Finance Committee will convene a hearing to receive testimony from Tax Court nominee Travis Greaves.

Update # 1 (7/24/2019): Fixed floor agenda.