Senate Returns From Recess, Confirms Texas Judge and Teeing Up Appeals-Court and Defense-Bill Votes as House Reconvenes
After a two-week recess, the Senate reconvened Monday and confirmed a Trump district-court nominee for the Southern District of Texas on a near party-line vote, while setting up a Tuesday confirmation vote for an appeals-court judge and a procedural vote on the annual defense policy bill. The House also returned and moved a batch of narrow, mostly bipartisan bills.
The Senate came back from a two-week recess Monday and moved quickly on President Trump's judicial nominees. The Senate voted 46-44 Monday evening to confirm Arthur "Rob" Jones as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Texas. According to Law360, the vote fell largely along party lines. Jones served on active duty as a judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps from 1995 to 2002, then joined the Justice Department, working as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Laredo handling border-related crime before moving to Houston.
The chamber also lined up its next steps. The nomination of Matthew A. Schwartz, of New York, to be a Second Circuit judge is scheduled for a confirmation vote on July 14. Democrats have uniformly opposed the pick; when the Senate earlier moved to cut off debate, the nomination passed cloture 52-45, with all Republicans voting yes and Democrats unified in opposition. After the Schwartz vote, the Senate is positioned to turn to the annual defense bill. Senator Thune filed cloture on the motion to proceed to S.4784, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, which authorizes appropriations for military activities of the Defense Department, military construction, and defense activities of the Energy Department.
In the House, members returned the same day after being sent home early before the recess amid Republican infighting. The chamber had a scheduled recess and returned July 13; frustration had been building on both sides of an impasse centering on voting reforms and gripes about the House's priorities. On Monday, the House met at noon for morning hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business, with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. The floor took up bills under suspension of the rules, a fast-track process for less controversial measures that requires a two-thirds majority. The list included H.R. 8770, the SAFEGUARDS Act of 2026; H.R. 9328, the Improving Travel for Military Members Act; H.R. 7574, the ELO Realignment and Strategic Engagement Reform Act; H.R. 8720, the Campaign Finance Transparency Act; H.R. 3535, the Stop Foreign Funds in Elections Act; and H.R. 8738, the FEC Administrative Improvements Act, along with two post office naming bills.
The House Rules Committee, which sets terms for floor debate, met to prepare bigger-ticket items. It considered H.R. 139, the "Sunshine Protection Act of 2025"; H.R. 8595, the State Department and related programs appropriations bill for 2027; H.R. 9237, the "Take Care of America's Veterans Act"; and H.R. 1181, the "Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act." The Sunshine Protection Act would make daylight saving time permanent.
Committee activity for the week includes a notable appearance by two Supreme Court justices. A House Appropriations subcommittee scheduled a budget hearing on the Supreme Court with Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan as witnesses. On the Senate side, the Armed Services Committee set a hearing on several Defense Department nominations, including Jules Hurst III to be Under Secretary (Comptroller) and Roger Mason to direct the National Reconnaissance Office. A House Veterans' Affairs subcommittee also held a hearing on PACT Act implementation and modernizing VA disability claims technology.
Highlights: - The Senate confirmed Arthur "Rob" Jones to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. - The Senate voted 46-44 Monday evening to confirm Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Arthur "Rob" Jones as a U.S. district judge to serve on the Southern District of Texas bench. - A final confirmation vote for Matthew Schwartz, nominated to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, is set for Tuesday, July 14. - Schwartz is one of Trump's former personal attorneys nominated for a lifetime appointment on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears federal appeals from CT, NY and VT district courts. - The House returned from recess and took up suspension-calendar bills, while its Rules Committee prepared floor action on a State Department spending bill and other measures.