Senate Republicans on Wednesday were in intense discussions about canceling the August recess, a move that could cripple vulnerable Democrats running for re-election in red states.
With President Trump’s encouragement, Republicans are threatening to keep the Senate open for an extended summer session to process agenda items delayed by Democratic obstruction. But the political benefits of denying incumbent Democrats valuable time on the campaign trail is also factor in the Republicans’ deliberations, and why they appear more willing that usual to give up a treasured annual vacation.
“It most certainly has been an item that’s discussed,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told the Washington Examiner. “There’s no way around it. If they’re not able to go home at a time in which they’re campaigning, it’s more of a challenge for them.”
About a third of the Senate’s 100 seats are contested in every federal general election.
This year, the seats up for grabs are mostly in Republican states where Trump’s job approval rating is near or above 50 percent. That is putting Democrats, who hold 49 seats, in danger of falling further into the minority, despite a national political atmosphere that favors their party to an extent that the GOP could lose control of the House.
To compensate, Senate Democrats running for re-election in states like Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, West Virginia — and possibly others — need time at home on the campaign trail. Congress is unpopular; being holed up on Capitol Hill in August rather than connecting one-on-one with voters, as their Republican challengers are already doing, could prove devastating.
That’s why Republican threats to cancel the August recess, usually toothless regardless of which party controls the Senate, are being taken seriously in this instance. Members of Congress jealously guard the August break, a time they use for family vacations, in-state (or in-district) meetings with supporters, and official trips abroad as a part of their work on policy committees.
“Clearly [Democrats have] got a lot more exposure,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has yet to weigh in with an official recommendation.
Notably, McConnell is keeping his options open, where in the past he was quick to sideline the suggestion. McConnell is continuing to confer with Trump and Senate Republicans, to see what kind of support there is among his members. So far, at least 16 GOP senators, led by Georgia’s David Perdue, are urging McConnell to pull the trigger.
With a slim 51-49 majority and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., away from Washington indefinitely as he battles brain cancer, McConnell cannot afford to cancel the recess without buy-in from his members. Just a couple of absences and Republicans would risk losing key floor votes. A GOP strategist with relationships in the Senate said “it’s certainly possible” McConnell cancels the break.
Some conservative activists, dissatisfied with McConnell’s leadership because they view him as too cooperative with the Democrats, are skeptical that he would abort the recess. But a Republican senator who supports the move and regularly fields criticism of McConnell as he travels the country raising money, said that the majority leader is not the problem.
“I always tell Republicans, we don’t have a leadership problem, we have a membership problem,” this senator said, requesting anonymity in order to speak candidly.
The Senate has a considerable backlog. Republicans blame the Democrats, saying they are abusing the rules of the Senate to unfairly slow-walk or block Trump’s agenda. (Republicans employed similar tactics when they were in the minority under former President Barack Obama, resulting in similar complaints from the then-majority Democrats.)
There are Trump nominees to the judiciary and executive branch that have to be processed and crucial government funding deadlines to meet, some just prior to the fall elections. Republicans claim they’re willing to reach some accommodations with the Democrats, possibly combining some of the appropriations bills to speed up cumbersome legislative work.
But ultimately, the Democrats are going to have to make a choice, say Republicans who insist they are determined to check items off of Trump’s to-do list in a timely fashion: Democrats can continue obstructing and spend all of their time in Washington or they can work with the Republicans to move the president’s agenda — ensuring they have more time to spend on the campaign trail back home.
“I’m more than happy to stay here and work, to fulfill the promises we made,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said.
