A closer look at next week…

But the big issues can still be felt. The government on Friday reported dismal job growth in May, which led to another down day on Wall Street and no word of a coordinated response from Congress or the White House. The White House said the dip in job creation is a “bump in the road,” but Republicans said it was more like a speed bump created by Democratic regulations.

Also hanging over Washington’s collective head is Friday’s House rebuke of the Obama administration’s decision to deploy the military to Libya without congressional approval. Forty-five Democrats joined with Republicans in support of the resolution from House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), making it more than just a partisan shot.

Underneath it all is the quickly approaching deadline to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling. Less than two months remain before the U.S. government would start defaulting on its debt, but there are few signs of a plan.

President Obama said he wants an agreed solution in June, and Democrats in the Senate are demanding that Republicans drop their drive to overhaul Medicare, but those two facts may end up being incompatible.

While Senate floor action next week may be unpredictable, Senate committees are up and running, and will hold a few hearings of interest. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the proposal to extend the term of FBI Director Robert Mueller until 2013. Also Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing on the nomination of Ryan Crocker to be the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.