MCCONNELL: August recess postponed for 2 weeks

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday said he will delay the start of the typically month-long August recess by two weeks to try to finish work on the GOP healthcare bill and other legislative items.

McConnell pinned part of the blame on obstruction by Democrats, a talking point the White House and Republican lawmakers have amplified in recent weeks.

"In order to provide more time to complete action on important legislative items and process nominees that have been stalled by a lack of cooperation from our friends across the aisle, the Senate will delay the start of the August recess until the third week of August," McConnell said in a statement.

The Senate healthcare bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), has stalled as members from the conservative and moderate wings of the GOP are unable to come to an agreement on key elements.

Several Republican senators have called for the delay of the August recess to finish work on the BCRA and other items like raising the debt ceiling and funding the government.

Here us the full statement from McConnell:

"Once the Senate completes its work on health care reform, we will turn to other important issues including the National Defense Authorization Act and the backlog of critical nominations that have been mindlessly stalled by Democrats.

In order to provide more time to complete action on important legislative items and process nominees that have been stalled by a lack of cooperation from our friends across the aisle, the Senate will delay the start of the August recess until the third week of August."