Congress returns for lame-duck session with funding deadline, Hegseth impeachment and debt limit in play

Republicans hold both chambers only until Jan. 3, and Democrats are returning with little incentive to help them legislate after winning at least 255 House seats and possibly as many as 56 Senate seats, according to CNBC.

The most pressing item is government funding. Current funding expires Dec. 11, and Congress must pass another continuing resolution or full-year appropriations bills to avoid a shutdown, a task made harder by the Senate's 60-vote filibuster threshold. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the presumptive chair of the Appropriations Committee, said in an X post as election results rolled in: "The power of the purse belongs to CONGRESS! It's NOT Trump's money. Taxpayer dollars belong to the American PEOPLE." Another wrinkle for the funding push is the reelection loss of Senate Appropriations Committee chair Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, to Democrat Troy Jackson.

Some Republicans want to raise the debt limit before power shifts. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., has called for action. The federal debt hit $40 trillion in September, near the $41.1 trillion ceiling, and the Bipartisan Policy Center said Treasury is likely to hit its maximum borrowing capacity by mid-summer. A Bank of America estimate from Nov. 6 said the U.S. may no longer be able to meet all its obligations by November 2027. Democrats may prefer to use the debt limit as a bargaining chip in the next Congress, while a Republican push through budget reconciliation would require near-total party unity at a moment when dozens of members are leaving.

The annual National Defense Authorization Act is another test. The House passed a version authorizing more than $1 trillion in defense spending in July, but Senate Democrats blocked their chamber's version that month over concerns about the Iran war. "Donald Trump is dragging America deeper into a war in Iran with no authorization, no plan, and no exit strategy. Democrats will not go along," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement at the time. The bill also drew business opposition over a provision that would restrict Pentagon contractors from executing stock buybacks and paying dividends without the Defense Department's approval. Hegseth faces a vote on articles of impeachment when Congress returns, and Axios reported that Rep. Thomas Massie plans to try to force a vote this week on his impeachment resolution.

Top senators on energy committees struck a pre-election deal on a construction permitting bill, but the deal may now be in jeopardy, though the Senate plans a procedural vote Monday evening. Politico reported that Hakeem Jeffries, the likely next House speaker, did not support the permitting deal, and Democrats' new majorities could give them an incentive to torpedo it in hopes of securing a better deal later. Democrats want to speed up the buildout of clean energy, while Republicans say federal permitting and environmental laws stymie the country's ability to build critical infrastructure.

Other bills could get floor time. The Senate approved a bipartisan package in September that would establish federal rules for how college athletes are compensated, though the measure faces House opposition. On congressional stock trading, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., called for action in an X post Thursday: "We have a great opportunity in the lame duck session to restore a small amount of trust by banning Members of Congress from trading stocks. I've been talking about this for many months, and it should be a no-brainer." Jeffries also listed banning members of Congress from trading stocks as part of Democrats' anti-corruption agenda in a letter announcing his speaker candidacy: "We must root out corrupt price gouging, clean up the mess at the Supreme Court and ban Members of Congress from trading stocks. Accountability begins at home."

The conservative House Freedom Caucus added its own demands in a letter Monday to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, outlining eight priorities including a third reconciliation bill, permitting reform, freezing federal spending at current levels and codifying President Donald Trump's border policies.

The lame-duck arithmetic is complicated by departures: dozens of House members and at least 17 senators are leaving, and some departing lawmakers, like Massie, have decided to shake the table and make their party feel their wrath. Massie, ousted by GOP voters in favor of a more Trump-aligned Republican, is also pushing another vote related to Jeffrey Epstein. Nadeam Elshami, a former chief of staff to Nancy Pelosi, told Axios that appropriations and the NDAA are what must get done and that Democrats "feel emboldened in both of those discussions." On Republicans' hopes of passing another reconciliation package, he said, "I just don't see that getting done." Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist, said Democrats may be happy to postpone some fights until January: "I think there's some things that Democrats would be happy to kick down the road."