Tammy Baldwin

Senators return to Washington on Tuesday with plenty of housekeeping to take care of before the 115th Congress comes to close.

Before getting to leadership elections and greeting incoming Senate colleagues, the current class has some legislating left to do. First up is a long-stalled reauthorization of the Coast Guard.

President Donald Trump’s approval rating among men has climbed to an all-time high in Wisconsin at 59 percent, while his approval among women in the state stands at a paltry 39 percent, according to a new poll.

The gap is reportedly the largest in the history of Marquette Law Schools’ polling and suggests Democrats should look to turn out women in November.

President Donald Trump is getting ready for a swing through the Mountain West for campaign rallies, but he won’t be alone. Many of his potential 2020 rivals are hitting the trail themselves, serving as surrogates for Democratic candidates in 2018.

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will find himself in Nevada on the same day as one of the president’s “Make America Great Again” spectacles Saturday, though they might as well be on different planets.

Senate Democrats are planning to force a vote this week on a resolution that would overturn the Trump administration’s expansion of short-term health insurance plans.

Critics call them “junk” plans, since they’re not required to comply with all the regulations of the 2010 health care law.

Updated 1:27 p.m. | Three Democratic senators running for re-election in states that President Donald Trump won in 2016 announced Friday they will not support his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Bredtt Kavanaugh. 

Two of them, Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Jon Tester of Montana, represent states Trump won by double digits. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, whose state Trump carried by 1 point, also announced on Twitter he would vote against confirming Kavanaugh. 

ANALYSIS — I have argued repeatedly that while the House is up for grabs — and indeed likely to flip to the Democrats in November — the Senate is not in play. I now believe that it is, so I must revise and extend my remarks.

Only about three weeks ago, I reiterated my view that Democrats didn’t have a path to a net gain of two Senate seats, which they need for a chamber majority. But a flurry of state and national polls conducted over the past few weeks suggest Democratic prospects have improved noticeably, giving the party a difficult but discernible route for control.

The conservative Americans for Prosperity is spending nearly $5 million on ads in three Senate races, including two seats that Republicans are trying to flip and one the GOP is defending.

The Koch brothers-backed group is launching television and digital ads against Democratic Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, and former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, who is running for Senate.

ANALYSIS — President Donald Trump’s problems continue to mount, raising more questions about turnout and how independent voters and college-educated women will vote. But the Senate map remains daunting for Democrats, and the polarized nature of our politics continues to limit Democrats’ Senate prospects.

While handicappers generally label Nevada as a toss-up and the early polls are tight, the Democratic nominee, Rep. Jacky Rosen has an edge over incumbent Republican Dean Heller in a state that went narrowly for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Updated 5:47 p.m. | Not long after their plans were nearly derailed Thursday over a dispute about Planned Parenthood funding, Senate leaders got a final vote on a $856.9 billion funding package.

Earlier in the day, Sen. Rand Paul had fumed that his fellow Republicans were blocking a long-sought amendment to keep taxpayer dollars from going to abortion providers.