With Democrats preparing to assume control of the House and Senate, the window for ambitious legislation is rapidly closing. Republicans have only five scheduled weeks in session before the end of the year, and their narrow majorities leave little room for mistakes.
The 119th Congress returns to Washington Monday facing a crowded to-do list, from preventing a government shutdown and passing the annual defense bill to confirming President Donald Trump’s nominees. Republicans are also weighing a final party-line spending package that could provide additional money for the military, cut taxes, and reduce federal spending.
The most immediate deadline is government funding. Current funding expires December 11, meaning Congress must pass another temporary funding measure or a full-year spending package to prevent a shutdown.
Negotiations have been stalled for months, with Democrats demanding increases in domestic spending to match proposed increases in defense spending.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who is expected to lead the Senate Appropriations Committee when Democrats take control, has already signaled that her party intends to use its leverage over federal spending.
“The power of the purse belongs to CONGRESS!” Murray wrote on X last week. “It’s NOT Trump’s money. Taxpayer dollars belong to the American PEOPLE.”
Congress must also pass the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which sets policy and authorizes funding for the Pentagon. Lawmakers have passed the defense policy bill every year since 1961, making it one of the most important pieces of must-pass legislation remaining.
The House approved its version in July, authorizing more than $1 trillion in defense spending, but Senate Democrats blocked their chamber’s version amid objections to Trump’s handling of the Iran war. The conflict has created another potential obstacle: The Pentagon says it needs additional funding to replenish precision weapons and other munitions expended during the fighting.
Republicans could attempt to address those needs through a budget reconciliation bill, which would allow them to pass certain budget-related legislation with a simple majority in the Senate rather than overcoming the usual 60-vote filibuster threshold.
But reconciliation is a complicated process requiring both chambers to approve a budget resolution before drafting and passing the legislation itself. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) said last week that the White House had expressed interest in another package, but lawmakers had not yet settled on what it would contain.
Another potential accomplishment is bipartisan permitting reform, a longtime priority for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and lawmakers seeking to make it easier to build energy infrastructure and other major projects. The Senate is scheduled to hold an initial procedural vote on the proposal Monday.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are demanding that Republican leaders use the remaining weeks to push through as much of the party’s agenda as possible.
“In the two months remaining in the 119th Congress, we have an enormous amount of unfinished business to preserve and protect the Republic from an incoming majority party hell-bent on radically changing it,” the group’s board wrote in a Monday letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Thune.
The group called for legislation codifying Trump’s border policies, strengthening voter ID requirements for federal elections, and holding federal spending at current levels. It also wants Republicans to pass a final reconciliation package that would modernize the military, provide tax relief for families, and offset the costs with at least $1 trillion in spending reductions.
“We respectfully request that we take action in the next 60 days to protect the citizens we represent,” the group wrote. “We request that we not leave town until we accomplish these objectives.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) has made a similar demand, telling Fox News over the weekend that lawmakers should remain in Washington through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day if necessary.
“Let’s get everything done,” Scott said. “Just stay every day — all through Christmas, all through Thanksgiving, all through New Year’s. Every day.”
Even relatively straightforward legislation could prove difficult with Republicans holding such slim margins. The party can afford to lose only two votes in the House, where several members have been absent or frequently break with leadership. In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats, but their advantage will shrink further when Ohio Republican Jon Husted leaves office Dec. 15 and Democrat Sherrod Brown, who defeated him in last week’s special election, returns to the chamber.
Republicans are also under pressure to confirm as many of Trump’s nominees as possible, particularly judicial nominees who must receive individual Senate votes rather than being included in a package of executive-branch confirmations. Conservative judicial advocate Mike Davis has urged Senate Republicans to confirm nearly two dozen judges before Democrats take control.
The House may also spend time considering articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is sponsoring the resolution, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said Sunday that he is a “hard yes” on impeachment. If the measure passes, the Senate could face an impeachment trial that consumes additional time.
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