McConnell cancels August recess for Senate, citing work load By Niels Lesniewski CQ-ROLL CALL
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced that the Senate will be in session throughout much of August.
“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,” the Kentucky Republican said in a statement. “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.”
Republican senators were aware of the direction that McConnell seemed to be headed before his formal announcement.
The Senate is expected to take a week away from D.C., for a district work period the week of Aug. 6, before returning for the balance of the month, according to the revised schedule.
“August we’ll be here,” Sen. Cory Gardner told Roll Call.
The Colorado Republican, who is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said ahead of Tuesday’s Republican Conference lunch that he was not anticipating much of a break around Labor Day.
“I don’t even think that. I think we’ll be here in August,” Gardner said. “I do not plan on going anywhere, at any point, in August.”
Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, a senior GOP appropriator and chairman of the Energy-Water spending subcommittee, said he did not know exactly how many weeks of August senators would end up being at the Capitol, but he suggested it should be dictated by the workload.
“As long as we have lots of nominations that aren’t confirmed and appropriations bills that aren’t passed, we should be here,” Alexander said.
That, of course, opens the door to another negotiation between now and August between McConnell and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.
McConnell previously stated he intended to work through numerous nominations and process legislation including fiscal 2019 spending bills, the defense authorization, a water resources package and the farm bill.
But the recess rollback comes with an obvious political benefit given the makeup 2018 Senate campaign map, with Democrats overwhelming playing defense in states carried by President Donald Trump in 2016.