Senate Republicans are miffed that their House counterparts are leaving Washington early while they remain for at least another week and a half, despite already spending more time in session this year.
The House on Wednesday adjourned a day early, ensuring its members will get a significant head start in their districts compared to the Senate. At the same time, senators — who are scheduled to depart for recess at the end of next week — are waiting to see if Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) will heed President Trump’s call to scrap all or part of the annual monthlong break to process nominees.
That combination is frustrating some senators, who believe they have earned the time back in their states.
“I think it’s rich,” one Senate Republican grumbled to The Hill. “Hold on a minute — you’re telling the Senate to stay here all of August, but you’re telling the House to go home?”
“Tell me when to show up. I think the same thing should happen with the House,” they continued. “They’re very French. … They work, best case, four days a week, and they take off all of August. How’s that not French?”
House GOP leadership announced earlier in the week they would cancel votes on Thursday. The uproar over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files had paralyzed the House Rules Committee, which must advance any bill that moves through regular order, blocking most measures from reaching the floor and prompting leadership to start recess early.
But what has irritated some Senate Republicans even more than the single day is how much time they’ve spent in Washington overall compared to their House colleagues. They had been hoping to use their August recess to sell their legislative wins, campaign and get face time with constituents.
The House has been out of session roughly a month more than the Senate thus far this year, having held four additional recess breaks, truncating one workweek in mid-March and opting for a pair of weeks featuring “Magic Mondays,” when the chamber doesn’t start work until Tuesday.
The Senate, meanwhile, lost a sizable portion of its July 4 recess due to the push to pass the sweeping tax and spending bill by the party’s self-imposed deadline, though the House was also called back into session that week. The Senate, in a departure from previous sessions, also worked the first 10 weeks of the year without a recess.
“I’m jealous,” quipped Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who could use additional time back home to campaign as he faces a potentially tough primary next year.
Others made their annoyance clear.
“We are busting our rear ends to get the president’s agenda through, to get the nominees in place, and there’s an opportunity for them to tee up important legislation,” a second Senate GOP member said. “They could be working on appropriations bills, moving those over.”
“We have shown our commitment,” the lawmaker continued. “We certainly would love for this to be a team effort.”
Despite the complaints, there is a big reason for the disparity: nominations and the lengthy amount of time needed to work through legislation.
The upper chamber has had to burn through many hours to overcome Democratic resistance and get the president’s nominees in place. Thune noted earlier this week that Trump has not gotten any of his nominees confirmed via unanimous consent or a voice vote.
In addition, the Senate has needed multiple days-long efforts to move the president’s massive tax and spending package and the bill clawing back funding for public media and foreign aid. Those included four overnight vote-a-ramas.
Thune joked that his members were “being punished” with the potential two-step of the House departing early and the Senate being told to stay, but he argued that work on nominations is necessary.
“We’re in the human resources business. They’re not,” said Thune, a former House member. “A lot of this is nominations, and that’s what the president currently at least is focused on. It is what it is.”
“You’ve got different rules. It’s easier to get things done [in the House]. You can do stuff with simple majorities. But it’s also hard to get things done, especially when you have narrow margins. I have an appreciation for what they’re dealing with over there,” he said. “We got our work to do here and we’re going to stay focused.”
Multiple Senate lawmakers made clear earlier in the week they are desperate for the full August break to remain intact so members can campaign and visit communities that have not gotten enough face time this year.
As for the House, GOP leadership defended their work throughout the year as they were heading for the exits on Wednesday.
“There’s a stack of House bills that are waiting over there, so if they start moving them, we’ll come back and give them some more to do,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told The Hill, noting that the military construction and veterans’ affairs appropriations bill was being voted out on the Senate side Wednesday. “I applaud them. There’s more work to do.”
Some Senate Republicans also couldn’t help but make light of the in-session day disparity.
“The high school usually goes a lot longer than the elementary school,” a third Senate GOP member cracked.
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