A de facto pro forma: Why Washington fixated these sessions as the DHS shutdown dragged on through recess
The normally dull procedural meetings drew floods of reporters as lawmakers failed to resolve the funding impasse
By Chad Pergram Fox News
Published April 4, 2026 6:44pm EDT
Carpe diem. If you’ve wondered why all of Washington buzzed so much this week about "pro forma" sessions in the House and Senate, here’s your chance to find out why.
Come on now. Tempus fugit. There’s no time like the present. Hopefully, when you finish reading this, you can declare veni, vidi, vici when it comes to your understanding of pro forma sessions in the House and Senate.
Let’s start with what pro forma means and why it holds application in Congress.
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In Latin, "pro forma" refers to "a matter of form." In other words, something appears real, but it’s just perfunctory. For decades, the House and Senate have used the parliamentary artifice of a "pro forma" session to adhere to the Constitutional requirement of meeting every three days.
Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution states that "Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting." That means the House and Senate must convene at three-day intervals — unless both bodies approved the same "adjournment resolution" to allow one another to depart Washington for an extended period of time. In other words, the House and Senate must vote and agree to be out at the same time. And if there’s no consensus on an adjournment resolution, the House and Senate technically must "meet" every three days.
The House and Senate often fail to sync up on an adjournment resolution because the party opposite the President wants to block him from using his power to install cabinet officials or other figures via a "recess appointment" — thus circumnavigating the Senate confirmation process. That makes it challenging to approve an adjournment resolution. But that’s another matter.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/de-facto-pro-forma-why-washington-fixated-sessions-dhs-shutdown-dragged-through-recess
