Capitol agenda: Senate heads into a weekend grind By Mia McCarthy and Jordain Carney 03/20/2026, 8:00am ET

03/20/2026, 8:00am ET

Get ready for a rare working weekend in the Senate with no break in sight.

Majority Leader John Thune is keeping senators at the Capitol the next few days to continue debating an all-but-doomed elections bill and advance nominees. Senators may have to work through the following weekend as well if the Department of Homeland Security is still shut down, threatening their planned two-week recess.

“I’m not excited about it,” one GOP senator told POLITICO.

In the meantime, the Senate is expected to vote again Friday on a DHS funding bill that will fail.

— ‘SAVE’ action Saturday: Senators will likely vote Saturday on an amendment to the SAVE America Act that would ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports — a demand from President Donald Trump that isn’t in the House-passed bill. The amendment will almost certainly fail to reach the necessary 60 votes, given Democrats are likely unified in their opposition. Keep an eye on which Republicans vote against the amendment.

The Senate could also consider Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s procedural gambit to force a vote that’s tangentially related to TSA funding. The effort would need 60 votes, meaning it will likely fail. Republicans could try to kill it before Saturday.


https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/03/20/congress/senate-weekend-session-save-america-act-dhs-00837277