Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL), the freshman senator from Alabama, is urging his Senate colleagues to skip August recess to work just as hard as the president on issues such as health care and tax reform.
“We need to work as hard as President Trump is working,” Sen. Luther Strange told Fox News in an interview.
Strange said that, although he is a newcomer to the Senate who has only been in office about four months, he is not a fan of the idea of taking a month-long recess in August when issues such as health care, tax reform, and the debt ceiling are pressing matters to Congress.
“It seems to me we should be rolling up our sleeves,” he said, adding that the month-long break “doesn’t sit well with him” or with his constituents.
Strange was one of ten Republican senators who sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) calling on him to cancel the August recess because the congressional schedule as it stands does not give lawmakers enough time to deal with legislative matters.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) told the Washington Post that Republicans are putting themselves at risk in next year’s upcoming midterm elections if they do not deliver in the coming weeks.
“There is a real anxiety among the people that I serve on why we’re not putting more things on the president’s desk,” he said. “They’re tired of excuses.”