Hello readers. Welcome back to On Politics. Zach Schermele here, USA TODAY's congressional correspondent. It's Monday, and senators this evening are beginning a two-week dash toward August recess. They're not off to a great start: President Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune already have different ideas about what's possible in that small window. More on that later.
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Lawmakers' love lives are coming under scrutiny as part of the next phase of an ethical reckoning on Capitol Hill . Prohibitions on legislators dating their staffers have long been in place – but, in the wake of recent scandals, some prominent voices in Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, say stricter rules are overdue. Bipartisan momentum is driving a new push to ban all members from having intimate relationships with any lower-level Hill employees, regardless of who they work for. "It's inappropriate, as it would be in any workplace," Johnson, R-Louisiana, told reporters last week.
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"Congress is a place you come to serve, not to date," Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-New Mexico, the chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, told me in a statement. The chair of the Republican Women's Caucus, Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Florida, is working on new bipartisan ethics legislation that could be introduced as soon as September, according to her office. I dove into the dating issue over the weekend.
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No return date yet for McConnell |
The congressional Office of the Attending Physician released this photo, dated July 26, 2026, of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, alongside his wife, Elaine Chao.
Congressional Office of the Attending Physician
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There's a new photo out today of Sen. Mitch McConnell and his wife, former Trump Cabinet Secretary Elaine Chao. And there's an update to go with it. Six weeks after McConnell was first hospitalized for a fall and subsequently treated for pneumonia, the Kentucky Republican's doctors have not yet cleared him to leave rehab and return to work. There's still no word on when he might come back to vote – or whether he'll even make it back to the chamber before his colleagues leave for August recess.
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"Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls," the congressional Office of the Attending Physician, which provides medical services and guidance to lawmakers, said in a statement.
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Trump amps up the pressure on Thune |
This morning, Trump urged senators via a Truth Social post not to head off to their planned break until they pass the SAVE America Act. Speaking later aboard Air Force One, he reiterated the demand and singled out the majority leader: "I have a good relationship with John Thune. He’s got to get his job done."
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Asked whether he would ever push to replace Thune, who enjoys widespread support among Senate Republicans, Trump added: "I haven't even thought of it."
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Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com.
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President Trump is calling for Senate Majority Leader John Thune to keep the Senate in Washington until Republicans pass the SAVE America Act.
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The 84-year-old lawmaker was first hospitalized on June 14 after a fall and subsequently treated for pneumonia.
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Former FBI Director James Comey wants a judge to toss a criminal case that accuses him of threatening the president by posting an image of seashells.
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