Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the Senate back in session, beginning Monday, May 4th, citing the “important work” of the Senate as a reason to resume in-person work in Washington, D.C.  Of course, work conditions will be altered to accommodate safety precautions for social distancing, sanitization of workspaces and facilities, and Senate support staff will still be working remotely. One of those important tasks of the Senate is the confirmation of Senator Ratcliffe as the Director of National Intelligence, as well as other appointments. (See coverage below provided by Just the News.)

The House, however, has remained in recess indefinitely, as decided by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  As of now, there is no set date to bring House members back to Washington, D.C..  House leadership shared that there is committee work being done remotely by the House Appropriations Sub-committee on the topic of coronavirus, led by Rep. Rosa DeLauro of CA. Her sub-committee will attempt to meet in person for a hearing about the White House’s response to coronavirus.  Reports are that the Democratic-led House is pursuing additional impeachment charges against President Trump, some stemming from his handling of the coronavirus situation in our nation. It is noted, that no other committees are meeting to tackle other topics and issues such as the annual defense policy bill and spending measures–nothing other than this single issue.

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Speaker Pelosi has been pursuing proxy voting for the House. Politico reports, “Pelosi has vowed to plow ahead with a rules overhaul to temporarily allow proxy voting, with or without Republicans in the coming weeks. [Minority Leader Kevin] McCarthy, meanwhile, has rejected the idea, expressing concern that a single lawmaker could vote on behalf of 200 representatives.”

No bi-partisan agreement has been forged as of yet for the House return, with Speaker Pelosi calling for longterm remote working accommodations for House members, and Minority Leader McCarthy calling for a return to the Capitol to resume sessions in person.