Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced on the Senate floor Thursday morning that the legislative body would cut short its July 4th recess to continue working on a budget deal. While the Senate would normally take the entire holiday week off, members will return the evening of July 5.
The move from Senate leadership comes the day after a scathing press conference in which President Obama criticized Congress for slow-rolling negotiations to reach a deal on the debt ceiling. The deadline for a deal is August 2.
“If by the end of this week, we have not seen substantial progress, then I think members of Congress need to understand we are going to start having to cancel things and stay here until we get it done,” said the president. “You know? They’re in one week; they’re out one week. And then, they’re saying, Obama’s got to step in it. You need to be here. I’ve been here.”
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Republican Senators, including Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Mike Lee of Utah and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, also held a press conference Wednesday objecting to taking a recess during budget talks.