Inside the GOP's mad dash to recess finish line

Senate Republicans are racing toward the August recess with a legislative to-do list worthy of a Joe Rogan podcast: crypto, college sports and hemp.

Why it matters: They likely won't get to all of it, but the White House wants the Senate to get caught trying.

• First, senators want to get way ahead of any government shutdown fight. Just as important — an NIL rights bill, with ESPN's first College GameDay set for Sept. 5.
• "I've kind of stacked these things: funding the government, the [Todd] Blanche nomination and the 74 nominations," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Thursday on Fox News, previewing his agenda.
• Then come "Russia sanctions, NIL, market structure," he added, rounding out a short list of issues that animate young men, who are the backbone of the MAGA coalition.

What to watch: Thune is still weighing whether and how to force another vote on the SAVE Act or similar election security legislation — even though it's expected to fall well short of the 60 votes needed to advance.

• "We'll figure out a way to get yet another vote on the Save America Act," Thune told Fox, "but I don't expect the Democrats to change their view."
• The vote would give Republicans another opportunity to put Democrats on the record opposing a voter ID measure that Thune has called an "80-20 issue."
• It might also help appease President Trump and his allies in the Senate who are insisting the Senate stay in town until election integrity is addressed.

What we're hearing: If T.S. Eliot covered Congress, he'd decide August is the cruelest month, breeding cloture votes for senators who just want to catch a flight.

• Some senators remain hopeful for a last-minute deal that would allow Thune to clear the deck and send everyone home Friday.
• As of Thursday evening, however, the prospect of the Senate working into the weekend remained a real possibility.

The intrigue: One major sticking point is crypto and the CLARITY Act, which would provide the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for digital assets.

• Democrats are reluctant to give Republicans an initial procedural vote on the market-structure bill, arguing it could short-circuit bipartisan negotiations and reduce pressure on GOP leaders to come to the table.
• They are also worried that a failed vote could unlock millions in crypto super PAC money.

Zoom in: Republicans also remain divided over hemp, threatening to complicate passage of the stopgap spending bill.

• Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) continues to insist on a vote to strip language, inserted at the White House's urging, that would delay implementation of a ban on certain intoxicating hemp products.