On McConnell’s watch, Senate will work Fridays

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) released the 2015 schedule with a change — Friday work.

McConnell’s office released the 2015 Senate calendar on Thursday. The 114th Congress will start on Jan. 6. 

{mosads}Before the elections, McConnell said senators should expect longer nights and full workweeks if he took control of the upper chamber. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) also had the Senate scheduled for Fridays but he regularly held the final votes of the week by 4 p.m. on Thursdays so that West Coast lawmakers could catch flights home later in the evening. The Senate didn’t work a full week all year. 

McConnell could be pressured by senators to do the same in his tenure — time will tell.

Now that Republicans control both chambers, the House and Senate schedules more closely mirror each other.

With Democrats in charge of the Senate, there were numerous weeks during which one chamber would be in Washington while the other was out.

Nearly all of the recess weeks fall on federal holidays, as was the case this year.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) released the House’s 2015 work schedule on Tuesday.