I've sat on two of them. We spent a great deal of time on procedure and housekeeping issues.
As important as this was, I'm sure they all talked before they took a vote. They wanted to make deadly sure everyone was on the same page.
Just a guess, but they also may not have wanted to come back in after 20 minutes, lest the press accuse them of a litany of transgressions from racism to global warming.
You are probably right. I hadn't thought about the procedural stuff. You'd want to make sure you did it all 100% correct too so the fink didn't weasel out of it later.