Article I, Section 5 prevents either the House or Senate from adjourning for more than three days without the other chamber''s consent. This requirement protects bicameralism by stopping one chamber from blocking the other''s work through strategic absences.
In practice, chambers hold pro forma sessions every three days when they want longer breaks—brief meetings where a single member gavels in and out without conducting business. These sessions satisfy the constitutional rule while letting members leave Washington for extended periods. The Framers worried that one chamber might thwart the other''s will by simply disappearing, so they built in this coordination requirement. If chambers can''t agree on adjournment timing, Article II gives the president power to adjourn them, though no president has used that authority in over 200 years.