The key focus of this election, like many before it, is the economy, but the Senate has spent its waning weeks in Washington focusing on something else: college sports.And that has proven a sticking point for some Republicans who are eager to maintain power in the upper chamber and worried that they aren’t meeting the moment to address voters’ concerns over the cost-of-living."I'm just hoping that this will be the best bill ever passed by the United States Senate considering the ungodly amount of time we've spent on it," Sen.Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital."So maybe this will be the most perfect and pristine piece of legislation ever," he quipped.FOX NEWS POLL: SQUEEZED BY COSTS, FRUSTRATED VOTERS TURN TO THE DEMOCRATSSen.
John Kennedy, R-La., speaks to members of the media at the U.S.Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, July 22, 2026.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is planning a vote on crypto market structure legislation as soon as next week despite Democratic criticism that the bill would do little to curb President Donald Trump's rapidly accumulating crypto wealth.(Bloomberg via Getty Images)"There's a lot of things we could be doing and should be doing," the senator added.
"So I hope we'll do those before we leave.We'll see."Hawley rattled off those issues that he hoped lawmakers would tackle that all ended in one word, costs — be it for fuel, prescription drugs, health care or the financial burden of the artificial intelligence boom.The Senate is expected to leave the nation’s capital on Wednesday to hit the campaign trail for the homestretch of the fast-approaching midterm elections.
But from the summer of 2025 to now, with several shutdowns and partisan fights in between, the sting on voters’ wallets, to some concerned Republicans, has become an afterthought.Still, Republicans are quick to tout their accomplishments from last year, notably the "big, beautiful bill," as their signature achievement to tackle the growing issue o...