‘Not A Vacation’: House Leaders Unveil Rival Game Plans For ‘Most Important Work Month’

As House lawmakers prepare to leave Washington, D.C., and begin their August recess this week, party leaders laid out plans for what their caucus members will be doing over the next several weeks.

In a press conference on Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dismissed the notion that Republicans would be taking it easy for the rest of the summer. Rather, he contended, they will be meeting voters and promoting the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” that passed through Congress and was signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month.

“This is the last leadership press conference before we enter the August district work period,” he declared. “Around here, people call it the August recess. It is not that. I know that lots of people in the press corps are going to be able to enjoy some downtime with friends and families, and we commend you for that. But House Republicans aren’t going to get to participate in all that stuff because this month of August is not a vacation.”

Johnson noted this period is “arguably the most important work month on our calendar” because members go home, connect with constituents in person, host roundtables with local businesses and organizations, and “meet with community stakeholders and local officials.”

“Really, really important components of the job,” Johnson said. “And frankly, they need to cut through the false and misleading claims about the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ from the media and the Democrats. As I mentioned, the more people know, the more they greatly favor the bill that we passed, and House Republicans are going to spend the month highlighting how it will positively impact our districts and our communities.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) used a Democrat leadership press conference on Wednesday to argue the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and Trump are “deeply” unpopular. He also said that all Republicans can do during this August recess is brag about their “toxic and extreme” bill that he claimed would cause millions of Americans to lose their healthcare and bestow large tax breaks onto billionaires.

“During the August district work period, House Democrats will hold events all across the country talking about our efforts to build an affordable economy that lowers the high cost of living in the United States of America, to protect the healthcare of the American people, and to combat the cultural corruption that exists in this town that undermines the ability to have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” Jeffries said.

“We’re looking forward to holding town hall meetings across the country, at the same time that Republicans will continue to run away from town hall meetings,” he added. “But we will fill the void that they are leaving and engage aggressively with the American people, all in service of building a country where everyone can experience the American dream.”

It remains unclear whether the Senate will have an August recess.

Trump called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to cancel “long weekends” and the upper chamber’s August recess to confirm more of his nominees.

“We’re thinking about it,” Thune said on Monday, according to The Hill.

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