WASHINGTON -- With less than four months to go until the midterm elections, the clock is ticking for Congress to get through its to-do list before campaigning takes over.

"I don't want to say that the time has passed to get major things done before the midterm election, but boy it's toward the end," said John Fortier, the director of the Democracy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

• Senate Majority Leader McConnell cancels most of Senate's recess
• Political expert said supreme court nominee will soon take center stage
• Risk of government shutdown in fall

Capitol Hill will soon quiet down for the August recess.

Members of the House will spend the whole month back home, but senators only get the first week this year.

Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) canceled the rest of the Senate's recess. 

He blamed Democrats for obstructing and said he aims to get ahead on the budget.

But Fortier said you shouldn't expect much from lawmakers between now and the midterms – especially because President Trump's nominee for the high court will reign supreme through November.

"Once the hearings get going and once the floor debate takes place, I think we'll talk about little else here in Washington and across the country," he said. "So that really is going to take the air out of much of the opportunity to do other things in Congress."

Lawmakers have yet to make firm decisions this year on issues like trade, immigration and health care.

And a topic like infrastructure, once thought to be something that could bring both parties together, has slipped through the cracks.

"That grand deal between the parties has not really materialized," Fortier said. "Maybe over time it will, but it doesn't look like we’re going to see much in that arena."

He said there might be hope for the farm bill and, maybe, some small changes to tax reform.

But Fortier said other hot button issues, like guns and the border wall, will likely continue to get caught up in the gridlock.

The risk of a government shutdown in the fall will keep budget negotiations front and center.

But Congress is sharply divided right now, so there's little hope in lawmakers accomplishing more than the basics.

"You're not going to get 100 percent of what you want," Fortier said. "But if you don't work at it, you won't get anything."

He said it's actually good senators will be in Washington for most of August, because he said passing spending bills is a lengthy process and the Sept. 30 deadline will be here soon.