Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he’sdelaying the Senate’s August recess by two weeks after dividedlawmakers have been unable to agree on how to revise health carelegislation he proposed to replace Obamacare.

McConnell of Kentucky said in a statement Tuesday that thefive-week break will be shortened “to provide more time to completeaction on important legislative items and process nominees thathave been stalled by a lack of cooperation from our friends acrossthe aisle.”

McConnell’s move provides breathing room to finish a health careoverhaul and start on a backlog of other must-do business,including a defense policy bill. Lawmakers are also months behindschedule on the budget, face a deadline to raise the debt limit andmust pass an appropriations bill by Sept. 30 to avoid a governmentshutdown.

President Donald Trump has called on lawmakersto complete health care legislation before going on recess.

If there were an imminent vote in the Senate, House Republicanleadership would keep their chamber in session into the beginningof August, according to a GOP aide familiar with the plans. If theSenate works further into August and passes a health-care bill,there would be intense pressure from the Trump administration tobring House members back to Washington for a vote, according to theaide.

Conservative Republicans in the Senate, including Thom Tillis ofNorth Carolina and David Perdue of Georgia, held a news conferencebefore McConnell’s announcement to call on Republican leadership tokeep the chamber open during the August recess to complete healthcare legislation.

“We’re prepared to work through August,” Tillis said. He saidthat could allow lawmakers to work on health care and start turningto tax reform, adding, “this is pivotal to making sure we have timeto do it.”

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska expressedfrustration, though, saying she needs the time at home to meet withconstituents and learn their priorities.

"It’s not a vacation," she said. "I would have been totally finestaying here and working and voting Mondays and Fridays" instead ofcutting into the August period in her home state.

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