Rachel Maddow rips 'repellent' Congress for giving itself two more months off

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow tore into both houses of Congress on Thursday for voting to take another break just as the country's engagement in another armed conflict is about to escalate.

"There's a reason the American public finds this Congress repellent," she said. "There's a reason why this Congress has the lowest approval ratings in the history of Congress and in the spectrum of all major institutions in our country."

As The Verge reported, legislators were allowed to leave the Capitol -- only eight work days after returning from a five-week summer recess -- and will not have to go back to work for another 54 days, until after the November midterm elections.

"It's not like there's anything going on they ought to be interested in, right?" Maddow asked sarcastically.

This latest recess, she explained, came hours after the Senate approved a bill sending weapons and training from the U.S. to moderate rebels in Syria to help in operations against the extremist group Islamic State. Air strikes against the group, which started last month, are about to expand into Syria, as well.

"Sixteen-hundred U.S. families have gotten the call that their loved ones deployed to Iraq. They're flying those missions right now," Maddow argued. "But Congress? Heading home for another seven-week break, because they can't be bothered to think about that right now. They've got more important business to tend to -- they've gotta get re-elected."

Watch Maddow's commentary, as aired on Thursday, below.