The House is in recess this week and is scheduled to return to Washington on November 16. The Senate is in recess until October 19, however, the Senate Judiciary Committee is meeting this week, each day through Thursday, for the confirmation hearing of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has scheduled a committee vote on Judge Barrett's nomination for Thursday, Oct. 22, setting up a final confirmation vote on the Senate floor during the week of Oct. 26.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced this morning that "When the full Senate returns on October 19th, our first order of business will be voting again on targeted relief for American workers, including new funding for the PPP [Paycheck Protection Program]." However, Congressional Democratic leadership has suggested a stand-alone extension of the PPP is a non-starter for them. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Tuesday also reiterated on a House Democratic caucus call that she would not give in and accept the Trump Administration's $1.8 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal, stating that "We really need to have an agreement, but we cannot have an agreement by just folding. I don't think our leverage has ever been greater than it is now."
The second presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden was originally scheduled for October 15 in Miami, Florida, but the debate was cancelled by the Commission on Presidential Debates following President Trump's opposition to participating in the debate virtually. In lieu of a debate, Vice President Biden is set to participate in an ABC News town hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Thursday evening from 8-9:30pm ET and President Trump is likely to participate in a separate town hall event hosted by NBC News at the same time and date. Both candidates have still agreed to participate in the last official debate scheduled for Oct. 22 in Nashville, Tennessee.
