WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives has fled Washington for their annual August recess, but the Senate may be stuck sweltering at work.
Both houses of Congress typically take a month off each summer, with many returning to their districts and visiting with constituents.
This year, House members were sent home a day early, amid tensions over the Trump administration’s refusal to release records from sex offender and former Trump friend Jeffrey Epstein’s case.
Meanwhile, senators have at least one more week before they go on break. But as legislative business hits a series of delays and major deadlines loom, President Donald Trump is pushing the upper chamber to stay in town.
Either way, both chambers have a tall order waiting for them in September if they want to keep the government doors open.
House heads home
Following the Justice Department’s announcement that they had found no evidence of an Epstein list of sex work clients or proof of other conspiracy theories such as the claim that the disgraced financier did not really commit suicide in 2019, Trump has been at odds with some of his high-profile supporters.
Democrats and some Republican lawmakers have called for the release of documents related to Epstein’s case. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, is spearheading bipartisan legislation to force the Justice Department’s hand on the matter.
Pressure to address the scandal prompted House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, to cut members loose a day early.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, called it a “chicken move.”
“And so irresponsible,” she told USA TODAY. “We have a lot of work to do to take care of people.”
“Because they are afraid to buck Donald Trump, they cancel half of the session week and go home for six weeks?” she added. “I don’t (know) what the hell they ran for Congress for, but I ran for Congress to make people’s lives better.”
Now, lawmakers are heading home, where voters could press their representatives on the issue.
Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who said he’ll be spending a good portion of his recess visiting and campaigning with colleagues in other areas, said he wouldn’t be surprised if questions on Epstein come up.
“Constituents ask all of kinds of questions,” he said. “But when I was back home a week or so ago, and we were at the pizza place in Urbana, Ohio, people were coming up to me just excited. ‘President Trump’s doing great. Thanks for the big, beautiful bill’ … It was all positive.”
Senators could stick around
Senators are set to wrap up their schedule in Washington on Aug. 1. But some would rather forego the break.
“I’m for staying and doing what we need to do,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, told USA TODAY. “They pay us to work. They don’t pay us to go home and sit for a month.”
Congress has until Sept. 30 to pass a series of appropriations bills or a temporary funding extension in order to avoid a government shutdown.
That major task, along with a backlog of nominations by Trump for the Senate to confirm, has the president calling for the chamber to keep working and Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, considering it.
“We’re thinking about it,” Thune told Axios on Monday.
The decision would be a tough sell to many senators, on both sides of the aisle, who have a fondness for their time back home.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, said that along with meeting voters, he will be spending the weeks away with his children in Georgia.
Asked about the possibility of recess being canceled, Warnock said, “That’s above my pay grade.”
Working hard or hardly working
Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska, said she is doing what she usually does during recess, which is travel by car across the state, with her husband at the wheel, visiting communities and constituents.
House members, who have since left the city, say they won’t be slacking over August.
Members of Congress will return to their district offices, often holding events, meeting with constituents and discussing legislative business from afar.
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, said when asked if he had any fun recess plans, “Uh, no. Working.”
Tennessee’s Republican Rep. Tim Burchett offered a similar response.
“I’ll do more work when I’m home than I do up here,” he said, adding jokingly, “These two-hour work weeks up here wear me out.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House leaves for summer recess, Senate could stick around
