Politics Edges Out Legislating as Congress Braces for Election

Congress embarks on its summer slog as lawmakers attempt to make progress on priorities such as defense, spending, and confirming nominees before election pressures bring serious legislating to a crawl.

The calendar crunch leaves little time to grind through contentious and complex legislation. One or both chambers are in session for just under half of the 22 weeks before the election.

Both chambers are out in August for their traditional recess and all of October in the run-up to the election. Two weeks of July are reserved for Republicans’ national convention and the July 4 holiday. The Democrats hold their ...