August is typically a sleepy time in Washington, with legislators and their staffs spending time at home during the congressional recess.

Too bad that wasn’t true this year.

Even though Congress was in recess, there were plenty of fireworks in the D.C. area last month, some of them lit by President Donald Trump, who repeatedly bashed the leaders of his own party for their inability to further the Republican agenda.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell lit his own fireworks when he questioned Mr. Trump’s understanding of the challenges and realities of governing.

In a tweet sent after news reports of the president’s deteriorating relationship with Mr. McConnell, the president said his only problem with the senator was that after hearing about repealing and replacing President Obama’s signature health care law for seven years, he failed to do so. But the president is becoming increasingly isolated from members of his own party because of such attacks and Republican legislators are also feeling more emboldened to criticize their own president, as seen by Mr. McConnell’s comments and the Republicans lining up to condemn the president’s contention that “both sides” were to blame for the horrific tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia.

This animosity could get in the way of Republicans pushing forward with their agenda when they return in September.

Congress is going to have a lot on its plate when it gets back to work after the Labor Day holiday, including a bill to continue funding the government beyond Sept. 30 and a necessary vote to increase the debt ceiling.

Reauthorizing and revamping the National Flood Insurance Program ahead of its pending Sept. 30 expiration is one of those critical items. It’s looking more and more likely Congress will kick the proverbial can down the road on the NFIP with a short-term “as is” extension to give legislators more time to reach some level of consensus on a reauthorization bill.

The good news for the NFIP is that there is bipartisan agreement on the need for the program and recognition of the significant disruption that would be created in the insurance and real estate markets if Congress fails to act. There is even some consensus on particular provisions, including one that would protect consumers from being penalized for shopping for a better deal on the private insurance market.

The bad news for the NFIP is that there is still major disagreement on other proposals to fix the program. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, has implored her colleagues to forgive the program’s massive $24.6 billion debt — a plea that apparently fell on deaf ears, as it was not included in the reform package adopted by the committee in June.

But unlike with health care reform, any political differences of opinions existing in relation to the NFIP should not keep Congress from moving forward with a well-crafted, bipartisan reform package that prevents the program from falling further into debt.

Recess is over. It’s time to get back to work.