>
Article snippet: WASHINGTON — Washington needs a vacation from itself. “Doing nothing is exhausting,” said Jason Chaffetz, the former Republican congressman from Utah, whose head start began with a surprise resignation in June. Yet for those who remain in Congress — and across the city’s motley roster of aides, journalists, consultants and lobbyists — the collective exhaling over this August recess has been complicated, as ever, by President Trump. No commander in chief in recent memory has rendered elected officials more vacation-ready. Nor has any exacted a greater psychic toll on them once they got away. The result has been a recess on edge, with daily prayers to the swamp gods that the president refrain from any sudden movements that would upset the hard-won quiet. “Under this presidency, every hour feels like a day. Every day feels like a week. Every week feels like a month,” said Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York. “Both the American people and the Congress do need a mental health break.” It has indeed been a particularly long seven-twelfths of a year, by any measure except math. Tweets have been tweeted. Resisters are resisting. Bills have rarely become laws, but the journey has been taxing. Of course, the first rule of Washington vacation is that it must not be labeled a vacation. “Meetings and calls!” Mr. Trump posted on Twitter from his club in Bedminster, N.J., over the weekend, describing his getaway plans as he began a 17-day out-of-town residency. ... Link to the full article to read more