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Washington shut down for the summer literally. The U.S. Senate officially left Capitol Hill on Saturday night, August 2, beginning its monthlong August recess with no agreement in place to confirm dozens of President Donald Trump’s stalled nominees. The collapse came after days of heated negotiations—and a social media outburst from Trump telling Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to “GO TO HELL!”
According to CNN, intense backroom talks had been underway between Senate Republican Whip John Thune, Schumer, and White House officials in a last-ditch effort to resolve the standoff before lawmakers skipped town. But by the weekend, it was clear: the deal was dead.
At the heart of the conflict were demands from Schumer to unfreeze federal funds and a commitment from Trump to halt any new efforts to slash domestic spending. Trump rejected both, calling the proposals “egregious and unprecedented” in a post that seemed to torpedo any remaining goodwill.
Initially, Trump wanted the Senate to stay in session until his nominees were confirmed—even if that meant scrapping recess altogether. But by Saturday, the president had done a 180.
“Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party—the Radical Left Lunatics—to GO TO HELL!” Trump wrote. “Do not accept the offer. Go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing… Have a great RECESS.”
That message landed like a political grenade.
Despite Trump’s fiery post, Thune still tried to get some nominations through before senators left. On the floor, he requested unanimous consent to vote on a handful of appointees. But Democrats, who had been slow-walking lower-level confirmations, refused to back down—insisting on procedural hurdles.
Schumer, for his part, had offered a deal: allow smoother confirmation votes in exchange for restoring funding to programs like the National Institutes of Health and foreign aid. He also wanted a promise from Trump not to push for another “rescissions” package—like the $9 billion in spending cuts enacted earlier this year.
Speaking at a news conference shortly after the Senate adjourned, Schumer didn’t hold back.
“In a fit of rage, Trump threw in the towel, sent Republicans home, and was unable to do the basic work of negotiating,” he said, holding up a printout of Trump’s all-caps message. “Is this the ‘Art of the Deal’?”
While Schumer didn’t reveal the full details of the talks, he said progress had been made on several fronts—until the president pulled the plug.
So now, with no deal, no confirmed nominees, and a fresh round of political finger-pointing, the Senate heads into recess. Whether negotiations will resume after the break remains to be seen but don’t count on things cooling off anytime soon.
