WASHINGTON — The unusual East Coast earthquake yesterday prompted the Senate to hold an even more unusual remote session.

After the Capitol was evacuated, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) presided over a brief Senate session in a conference room in Postal Square, a building next to Union Station and two blocks northeast of the Capitol.

The pro forma session, which was purely technical and involved no Senate business, lasted just 22 seconds.

The session was constitutionally required because Congress has yet formally recessed, and is not allowed to go three straight days without convening.