Kaine threatens to object to Senate leaving for recess

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said on Tuesday that he will try to block the Senate from taking a weeklong recess if the government is still partially shut down. 

“It would be outrageous for Senators to leave town this Wednesday without fixing this mess, and I object to the Senate going into recess unless Senator McConnell holds a vote on the bipartisan bills the House passed to reopen,” Kaine said in a statement. 

The Senate generally leaves town on Thursday, though they’ve been holding brief Friday sessions during the partial shutdown. If the Senate tried to adjourn at the end of the week and Kaine objected, Republicans could force a vote on adjourning. 

{mosads}House Democrats announced earlier that they were canceling the recess if the government is still shut down.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not yet announced if that chamber will cancel their recess if the government is shut down.

But several Senate Republicans have signaled they believe they should remain in town, even if negotiations are still at a standstill. 

“I have encouraged Leader McConnell to cancel next week’s recess, so we can continue to work. We need to address this partial shutdown and keep working on the policies and programs important to the American people,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of GOP leadership, said in a tweet.

“I have no idea whether we’re going to have recess or not. My sense is if we’re still in a shutdown we ought not to be going off on recess,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters on Monday night.