Congress might not get summer vacation this year

Republican leadership in Congress is considering canceling legislators' month-long August recess, The Hill reports, to allow more time for work on tax reform, health-care policy, and other agenda priorities.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has attempted to schedule a health-care bill vote in the two weeks before the July 4 break, but that looks increasingly unlikely. The slow pace of health-care negotiations delays the 2018 budget resolution, which in turn affects progress on tax reform and other appropriations votes. The deadline for many of these votes is Sept. 30 if another government shutdown is to be avoided.
"I think there's a majority that probably supports" working through the August recess, Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) told The Hill. "I don't want to wait until the last week [before shutdown] to be forced into a [continuing resolution]. That's ridiculous."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Eras are an imprecise tool to make sense of the messy past'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - February 21, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - February 21, 2025
By The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms Gabbard as intelligence chief
Speed Read The controversial former Democratic lawmaker, now Trump loyalist, was sworn in as director of national intelligence
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, Putin plan Ukraine peace talks without Kyiv
Speed Read President Donald Trump spoke by phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not included
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Elon Musk defends DOGE effort from Oval Office
Speed Read President Trump signed an executive order giving DOGE even more power to shape the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge says White House defying order to spend funds
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John McConnell has ordered the Trump administration to restore federal funding it tried to freeze
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump DOJ orders end to charges against NYC mayor
Speed Read The Justice Department has dropped charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was charged with bribery and fraud
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump team aims to shut consumer finance watchdog
Speed Read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was established after the 2008 financial crisis to investigate corporate fraud and protect consumers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Federal judges block Trump citizenship order
Speed Read A second judge has blocked the president's order to end citizenship for children born on American soil to parents without legal status
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
DOGE official at Treasury resigns after racist posts
Speed Read Marko Elez's ability to access the Treasury's central government payment system has been rescinded
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published