Senators accustomed to flying into Washington, D.C., on a Monday night for votes and leaving town a few days later will get a bit of a shock to their system in 2025 with Republicans eager to push through President-elect Donald Trump's agenda.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., released the upper chamber's 2025 calendar Thursday, with senators scheduled to be in session for 10 straight weeks when the new Congress opens Jan. 3, The Hill reported. They will not have their first recess until March.
The ramped-up schedule not only is a result of the Republican-led chamber wanting to push through Trump's agenda but also for approving his Cabinet nominees, according to The Hill.
"Get ready to work," Thune wrote on X in a post that included a screenshot of the Senate calendar.
The Senate also is planning on being in D.C. for the vast majority of Fridays, both during that opening stretch and throughout the year. The chamber will be in session for 179 days in 2025. In 2021, President Joe Biden's first year, the Democrat-led Senate was in session for 158 days. The Republican-controlled House is expected to be in session for 136 days this year, according to its calendar.
A typical work week in recent years has seen senators arrive in D.C. for votes on Monday night and leave town early Thursday afternoon, according to The Hill.
Some Senate Republicans complained about the lack of working days this year, especially with a number of weeks that started on a Tuesday, but only two work weeks will start on a Tuesday this year, and both follow holidays (Presidents Day on Feb. 17 and Labor Day on Sept. 1).
Both chambers have scheduled a two-week recess around Easter and Passover, which fall in mid-April, according to Roll Call. Weeklong recesses are scheduled around Memorial Day and July 4, and the House also is expected to be out of session for a week around Juneteenth. Both chambers will be out for the traditional August recess.
After Labor Day, lawmakers will return to D.C. for three work weeks in September, with a scheduled recess the week of Sept. 21 for Rosh Hashanah. That would come a week before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30 when Congress faces a funding deadline for the next fiscal year. Both chambers are scheduled to be in session on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30.
In the last quarter of the year, the Senate calendar has a weeklong recess in mid-October for Columbus Day, and House lawmakers are set to return that Tuesday. Both chambers are scheduled to recess for two weeks in November, one for Veterans Day and another for Thanksgiving.
The Senate is scheduled to wrap up its work for next year on Dec. 19, a day after the House.