The 119th Congress has taken roughly 16 breaks from Capitol Hill thus far despite a record-long shutdown and a war with Iran.
The House and Senate followed through with their recesses during historically rocky times, including when the longest government shutdown in history took place in the Fall of 2025, lasting 43 days. During that time, Speaker Mike Johnson extended district work periods and the House did not return for regular votes, while the Senate took short breaks that prolonged the shutdown.
Throughout the shutdown, the Senate reconvened for votes during the first week of October and continued meeting into November to negotiate on continuing resolutions. The House remained predominantly out of session, prompting Democratic Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz to introduce a resolution on Oct. 10, 2025, calling on the chamber to reconvene and hold recorded quorum calls during a shutdown.
The 117th and 118th Congresses had between 30 and 38 total recesses and work periods, according to Ballotpedia.
Both chambers took their scheduled mid-February recess lasting from Feb. 14 to Feb. 22, when the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began. Congress also took a two-week Easter recess that was scheduled from March 30 to April 12 while the shutdown continued, which caused severe flight delays, shortages in Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff and long wait times at airports.
The House and Senate also left for their current recess Thursday and punted President Donald Trump’s request to have a $72 billion reconciliation package to fund immigration enforcement on his desk by June 1. Senate Republicans did not resolve their battle regarding a $1.776 billion fund that would provide payments to some who allege the justice system was “weaponized” against them.
2026 is right around the corner. pic.twitter.com/yBRCDbvzu4
— Ryan Wrasse (@RWrasse) November 19, 2025
The fund also faced opposition in the House. Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York introduced legislation Thursday to prohibit the use of taxpayer money for the fund. Both chambers will not address the issue until they return from Memorial Day recess on June 2.
Some of the lawmakers’ absences from Capitol Hill included district work periods, which is a scheduled block of time when a lawmaker leaves Washington, D.C., to work from their home states or districts. These periods of time are often dedicated to local constituent services. Sometimes lawmakers take these times to campaign either for themselves or other candidates.
The House abruptly delayed a vote on the war powers resolution that would restrict Trump’s ability to continue the war in Iran until after the Memorial Day recess. Four Senate Republicans, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, voted to advance the resolution for a procedural vote in their chamber on Tuesday, though a floor vote will also wait until after they return.
Johnson abruptly adjourned the House early in July for its summer recess as a strategic maneuver to sideline a discharge petition attempting to force a floor vote on the release of the files surrounding Jeffrey Epstein. He defended the move by accusing Democrats of “political games.”
“We’re done being lectured on transparency,” Johnson said at the time.
In December, lawmakers began their Christmas recess a day early, although they had several unresolved issues still on the table. Congress had not yet codified several of Trump’s executive orders and left a day before the deadline for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release the Epstein files.
The Senate has yet to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a Republican-led bill that would require voters to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship before voting in federal elections. The legislation, introduced by Texas Rep. Chip Roy, passed the House on April 10.
Johnson said the House has also begun brainstorming ideas for a third reconciliation package, stating on Salem Radio Network’s “This Week on Capitol Hill” that it will address the cost of living and include some anti-fraud measures.
The Senate took an entire week off during the third week of January. The House then took its own recess the following week, according the House’s 2026 calendar.
Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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