Senate Republicans are racing toward the August recess with a legislative to-do list worthy of a Joe Rogan podcast: crypto, college sports and hemp.

Why it matters: They likely won't get to all of it, but the White House wants the Senate to get caught trying.

• 🏈 First, senators want to get way ahead of any government shutdown fight. Just as important — an NIL rights bill, with ESPN's first College GameDay set for Sept. 5.
• "I've kind of stacked these things: funding the government, the [Todd] Blanche nomination and the 74 nominations," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said today on Fox News, previewing his agenda.
• Then come "Russia sanctions, NIL, market structure," he added, rounding out a short list of issues that animate young men, who are the backbone of the MAGA coalition.

👀 What to watch: Thune is still weighing whether and how to force another vote on the SAVE Act or similar election security legislation — even though it's expected to fall well short of the 60 votes needed to advance.

• "We'll figure out a way to get yet another vote on the Save America Act," Thune told Fox, "but I don't expect the Democrats to change their view."
• The vote would give Republicans another opportunity to put Democrats on the record opposing a voter ID measure that Thune has called an "80-20 issue."
• ⚡️ It might also help appease President Trump and his allies in the Senate who are insisting the Senate stay in town until election integrity is addressed.

🎧 What we're hearing: If T.S. Eliot covered Congress, he'd decide August is the cruelest month, breeding cloture votes for senators who just want to catch a flight.

• Some senators remain hopeful for a last-minute deal that would allow Thune to clear the deck and send everyone home tomorrow.
• As of this evening, however, the prospect of the Senate working into the weekend remained a real possibility.

The intrigue: One major sticking point is crypto and the CLARITY Act, which would provide the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for digital assets.

• Democrats are reluctant to grant Republicans an initial procedural vote on the market-structure bill, arguing it could short-circuit bipartisan negotiations and reduce pressure on GOP leaders to come to the table.
• They are also worried that a failed vote could unlock millions in crypto super PAC money.

🔥 Zoom in: Republicans also remain divided over hemp, threatening to complicate passage of the stopgap spending bill.

• Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) continues to insist on a vote to strip language, inserted at the White House's urging, that would delay implementation of a ban on certain intoxicating hemp products.

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— Hans Nichols and Stef W. Kight

Denounced on social media and by fellow Republicans, Ohio Rep. Max Miller is telling allies he's not quitting for a simple reason: It would be tantamount to admitting he beat his ex-wife and their child, which he denies.

🤔 Why it matters: The Washington summer scandal is a case study in whether Miller — one of Donald Trump's understudies — can successfully employ the president's playbook of never backing down and never quitting.

• Trump has publicly expressed sympathy for Miller but privately expressed doubts about his viability.
• 📢 The calls to resign have mounted, especially in the Senate, where Miller's ex-father-in-law, Ohio's Bernie Moreno, serves.
• Moreno's fellow Ohio Republican, Sen. Jon Husted, called on him to quit today.

🔎 Zoom in: Miller allies say his critics are underestimating his resolve and the intensely personal dynamics of the vicious battle with his ex, Emily Moreno, involving their 2-year-old daughter.

• "If he quits, he's basically giving up," said a congressional colleague. "And if he gives up, it basically means he did it."

🌎 Zoom out: Though some have called for his expulsion from the House, Miller has told his colleagues it would set a terrible precedent because there's no evidence showing he hurt his ex or their child.

• "Here we are in the middle of a divorce proceeding, and I don't think he's even been charged with anything they're making the accusations of," said an ally, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.). "We're big on the Constitution, innocent till proven guilty, yet we're guilty until proven innocent, it seems right now with him."
• House Speaker Mike Johnson called the allegations against Miller "serious" in an interview with Politico on Tuesday but said lawmakers have to allow the Ethics Committee process to play out. "We don't take disciplinary action against members for allegations," Johnson said.
• Miller has released documents that he says show he was investigated for abuse but that the allegations were unfounded.

Yes, but: There's only so long a candidate can hang on if he's constantly denounced, attacked and looks increasingly un-electable.

• 🚨 Republicans privately expect that Miller will drop his reelection bid by the end of this week, according to two sources.

The intrigue: He, his ex and his father-in-law are now embroiled in a dispute over whether the representative held his daughter's blue bunny stuffed animal toy "hostage."

• Another Ohioan, Vice President JD Vance, has an unfriendly relationship with Miller but has pointedly kept quiet.

🗓️ What's next: According to the Ohio secretary of state office's election calendar, Monday is the last day a political party nominating committee can name a replacement for a candidate if he withdraws.

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— Marc Caputo and Kate Santaliz