Nobody knows when Congress will go back to D.C.

Rep. Gerry Connolly.
(Image credit: ZACH GIBSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Congress initially planned to get back to work by April 20, but that's starting to feel like a pipe dream, Politico reports. Now, it's anybody's guess when lawmakers will return to Capitol Hill, as they, like the rest of the United States, wait out the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Nothing has officially changed — April 20 is still the date on the docket, but resignation to the contrary seems to have set in among members of Congress. After all, President Trump, who once believed the U.S. economy would be "raring to go" again by April 12, just extended the federal government's social distancing guidelines until the end of April. "That's sort of an aspirational goal, but I think it's obviously subject to radical change based on circumstances," said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.). "April 20 is what, three weeks away? That seems a little early based on the pace of this crisis."

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.