Congress returns from its August recess to a formidable to-do list, with Republicans in both chambers facing a September sprint to avert a government shutdown and advance a sweeping budget reconciliation package that has divided the party.
The House will first take up a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded past the September 30 fiscal year-end. The lower chamber has already passed its own version, which would maintain current spending levels through December 4. The Senate, meanwhile, approved its own CR in a 90-6 vote, extending funding to December 11. The Senate measure also includes a provision to temporarily block a White House budget office rule that would give political appointees more control over federal grant disbursement—a provision that may face resistance from some House Republicans.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) acknowledged the potential friction, saying on Fox News that the House had passed a “completely clean” CR through December 4, and that it remains to be seen how the Senate version plays in the lower chamber. Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) expressed optimism, telling The Hill that while the two bills differ, “the fact that they have interest in doing it, and we have interest in doing it, makes me optimistic we’ll get something over the finish line.”
The bigger challenge is the reconciliation package, which President Trump has been pushing for. The House-passed budget blueprint includes $73 billion for defense and intelligence, $12 billion for agriculture aid, and $10 billion to incentivize states to adopt Trump-backed voting restrictions. However, Senate Budget Committee Chair Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) released a competing budget resolution in early August that the Senate did not take up before recess, and fiscal hawks in the upper chamber are demanding offsets—something the House version lacks.
Johnson has said the president agreed to work “diligently through August and September to do an actually better budget reconciliation bill,” but some Republicans are skeptical. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) told Fox News, “I’m not sure much gets done in September in Congress. The Senate left town before passing the reconciliation bill. That was the big thing that needed to be done, make sure that we replenish our munitions, and they abandoned town.”
Beyond the CR and reconciliation, the annual defense policy bill, the farm bill, and the reauthorization of foreign surveillance powers (FISA) remain unfinished. The Senate also passed a Russia sanctions expansion bill that the House is expected to take up. A college sports bill backed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was postponed after a procedural dispute.
The legislative calendar is tight: the House returns next week but leaves again the following week, while the Senate doesn’t reconvene until September 14. That leaves roughly three weeks of working days before another monthlong recess in October, making it likely that many priorities will slip until after the midterms.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) struck a hopeful tone, saying in a statement, “There’s no question we have a packed September ahead of us, but that’s nothing new in Congress. There is a lot of important work that needs to get done, and funding the government responsibly will be a major priority when we return to Washington.”
The CR appears to have the best chance of passage, given the Senate’s overwhelming vote and the House’s early action. But the reconciliation bill faces a more daunting path, with internal GOP divisions over spending and offsets. As the party navigates these challenges, the political stakes are high, with the midterm election crunch looming. For more on the GOP’s internal dynamics, see Cruz's comments on the party's identity debate.
