SENATE cancels recess. House still leaves for the month of August to campaign. https://t.co/8i21nl30dQ
— Alex Moe (@AlexNBCNews) June 5, 2018
Per the Washington Post:
… The Senate will now recess for one week in August instead of four, said McConnell (R-Ky.). He made the announcement in a closed-door lunch with Republican senators, according to several people familiar with his comments who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
His decision has been widely anticipated in the Senate Republican Conference. Some GOP senators sent a letter to McConnell last month urging him to keep the chamber in session to vote on nominations and legislation, and Senate leaders have said the appetite to stay in town has grown in their ranks…
The additional workweeks in August mean that endangered Democratic senators on the ballot this year will face a dilemma: Stay in Washington and attend to Senate business during time they could otherwise use to campaign back home or remain in their states and face criticism that they are shirking their responsibilities in government.
The new schedule could also enable their Republican challengers — many of whom hail from the private sector or state government — to have the states to themselves during the late summer stretch…
Senate Republicans’s priority in the midterms is trying to keep control of the chamber. They hold a slim 51-to-49 advantage.
President Trump’s low approval ratings and the swirl of controversy around the White House have Republican strategists worried about the party’s standing headed toward the fall. With every House seat up, many Republicans have privately concluded their majority on one side of the Capitol may be all but gone.
A more favorable Senate map has given them greater confidence about holding on to the upper chamber of Congress…
McConnell is in full “when you can’t win, just change the rules” mode. This proves how scared they are. #VOTE pic.twitter.com/OHICHRX49x
— golden state warrior blond (@goldengateblond) June 5, 2018
Also… "The Democrats are awful because they are preventing us from taking a month off work" is probably not an argument sympathetic to most Americans.
— Ryan Patrick (@RyanPatrick219) June 5, 2018
To spell it out: adding a couple weeks to the legislative calendar for 2018 suggests that he isn't expecting to be in charge of it in 2019.
To spell it out further: he thinks the GOP is going to lose control of the Senate.
— Alexandra Erin (@alexandraerin) June 5, 2018
I've seen a lot of pieces about how democrats are too optimistic, but the GOP tends to poll deeply and play the data close to its vest. If Mitch is not confident of his chances to remain majority leader, I'd take his worries seriously.
— Alexandra Erin (@alexandraerin) June 5, 2018
More GOP Fvckery Open Thread: Mitch McConnell Makes A MovePost + Comments (216)