A quick recap: before recess in June, Karen Bradley, the culture secretary, revealed the findings of Ofcom's report into the deal and her initial view on whether it should go ahead.
Mr. McConnell knew his best chance to pass the bill was a quick strike before the Fourth of July recess, and he was right.
Democrats, including several presidential candidates, have portrayed him as insensitive to racial issues, and were quick to charge on Friday that the recess appointment, only three days before the Martin Luther King holiday, demonstrated Mr. Bush's own indifference to civil rights.
Simply go ask your teacher if you can help him/her If your teacher does need help, try to do it quite slow so time will pass and recess will seem to have finished quicker.
Plots are hatched during a quick trip to the lockers, rumors destroy reputations at recess, and friendships crumble at varsity practice.
And with little more than a week remaining before Congress leaves for August recess, there seems little confidence for a quick resolution.
The Senate's Republican leaders have said they hope to hold a vote on the nomination next week, before the Memorial Day recess, and the White House and the State Department have urged quick action.
The House is slated to go on recess Thursday until May 16, which forced GOP leaders to make a quick decision about whether to try to hold a vote before leaving town.
But with the public and military veterans groups demanding quick corrective action at the VA, congressional leaders knew that approving the reforms before the summer recess would be critical.
BBC political correspondent Ben Geoghegan said the three-hour NEC meeting rejected the option of a quick election to see a fresh face taking on David Cameron in the Commons immediately after the summer recess.
