Senate Republicans agreed Tuesday to cancel most of this year’s August recess.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell presented the idea at a lunch with his Senate Republican colleagues. After some discussion, they agreed to give senators the first week of August off, but then require them to be back at work in Washington for the rest of the month.
“Due to the historic obstruction by Senate Democrats of the president’s nominees, and the goal of passing appropriations bills prior to the end of the fiscal year, the August recess has been canceled,” McConnell said in a statement Tuesday. “Senators should expect to remain in session in August to pass legislation, including appropriations bills, and to make additional progress on the president’s nominees.”
[Also read: Cutting the August recess could be a win-win for Senate GOP]
The move would let senators confirm more of President Trump’s nominees and pass more of the GOP agenda through Congress. However, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the plan would be to spend most of the time confirming nominees.
“Nominations, nominations, nominations,” Cornyn said when asked about the August agenda.
Cornyn also defended the GOP move to keep the Senate in session against the complaints of Democrats who say the schedule change is a politically motivated move. Democrats have far more seats to defend in the mid term election and many are in states that voted for Trump in 2016.
“This is a situation of their own making,” Cornyn said. “I think now they are desperate, because they realize they are more exposed politically with so many Democrats running in red states.”
Lawmakers typically depart by August 1 and do not return until after Labor Day.
It would not the first time McConnell has shortened the summer recess. He delayed the start of the break last August by two weeks but eventually allowed the chamber to adjourn by the second week of August.
Republicans have accused Democrats of slow-walking nominations by refusing to agree to shorten lengthy debate time requirements.
The current schedule would have likely sent the Senate home for the summer by August 1 or August 2.
