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AXIOS (Stef W. Kight) - Senate crushes House on congressional work days Fri Oct 2 19:08:03 2026

Source: Ballotpedia, Congressional Record; Chart: Stef Kight/Axios The Senate is well on its way to claiming the congressional attendance trophy this year, spending 32 more weekdays in session so far than the House. Why it matters: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have been torched by members for all the time off — not to mention Democrats, who taunt them for their truancy. - The Senate left town late Wednesday — two weeks after its House counterparts — putting both chambers out of town until after the Nov. 3 midterms. - "I suppose I left the House two years too soon," Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) told Axios, joking about how many fewer days the House has worked compared to the Senate this Congress. By the numbers: The Senate has been in session for 104 weekdays so far this year, compared with just 72 for the House, according to an analysis of congressional calendars by Ballotpedia and Axios. - The Senate has spent nearly 664 hours in session, compared with about 378 hours for the House as of Sept. 14, according to data in the Congressional Record . - The House isn't catching up anytime soon: Under the chambers' current calendars, the Senate is on pace to finish the year with about 126 weekdays in session, compared with 92 for the House. Zoom in: Some of the House's time off was unplanned. - Johnson has repeatedly sent members home early when his razor-thin majority has run into trouble on the floor, or GOP rebels have blocked passage of a procedural "rule ." - Decisions to cut D.C. workweeks short have been met with some backlash. - "Canceling yet another day of votes is unacceptable," Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) wrote on X after Johnson canceled a session day. "The founders did not envision taking this much time off and still getting paid." The other side: Johnson repeatedly argues that his chamber has already done its job. - "This House has been the second most productive in terms of legislation in the history of the institution since 1789," Johnson told reporters this month, saying the House had passed more than 900 pieces of legislation and roughly 700 were awaiting Senate action. - Johnson's 900-plus figure includes resolutions that can't become law. The Washington Post found the House had passed 732 bills capable of becoming law through Aug. 31. By the numbers: The House passed more measures than the Senate (380 to 269), but the Senate held more "yea" or "nay" votes (231 to 216) between Jan. 3 and the end of August. - House members introduced more legislation overall, but the Senate was more productive per capita — 22 pieces of legislation per senator compared to nine per House member. - The House has passed 21 bills sent over by the Senate, and the Senate has passed 20 bills sent by the House. - The Senate spends significant floor time confirming nominees — which is outside of the House's portfolio.