WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Tuesday canceled the first two weeks of the usually sacrosanct August recess to give lawmakers time to catch up on a roster of unfinished legislation and a backlog of Trump administration nominees.
The announcement by McConnell came as Republicans controlling the Senate continue to struggle with legislation to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law. He vowed to wrap up that legislation next week but a number of neglected items have been left in health care’s wake as that bill has been repeatedly delayed.
Little progress has been made on other legislation, and the Kentucky Republican says the chamber would work on the annual defense policy measure and, perhaps, must-do legislation to increase the government’s borrowing authority.
McConnell made the announcement after a growing group of fellow Republicans have repeatedly urged him to keep the Senate in session to catch up on the raft of unfinished work, which includes well more than 100 nominees.
It’s not uncommon for backbench lawmakers to demand that a recess be canceled to play catch-up on unfinished work. But such efforts often amount to grandstanding, and most everybody in Washington is privately relieved when vacations aren’t canceled.