GOP Congress faces funding deadline, farm bill, lengthy to-do list in year-end session

WASHINGTON — Voters may have given Democrats control of Congress in the midterm elections, but Republicans will remain in charge of both chambers during the lame-duck session that spans November and December. 

The relatively brief five-week schedule, which begins Monday, gives GOP leaders a chance to wrap up unfinished work before handing over power when the new session begins in early January. 

Congress could send the president several major pieces of legislation during that time, including the annual defense policy bill, the farm bill, a measure to regulate the college sports landscape and permitting reform to ease regulation on large construction projects.

But lawmakers must pass a government funding bill before Dec. 11 to avoid another shutdown. Congress used a stopgap spending bill to keep federal programs up and running after the new fiscal year began Oct. 1.

Democrats and Republicans don’t have enough time to broker bipartisan agreement on the dozen full-year appropriations bills, which will likely total around $1.9 trillion.

That means lawmakers must use another stopgap spending bill to extend funding into next year, when Democrats will take the lead negotiating with President Donald Trump. 

North Dakota senator obstacle to confirmation push

Senate Republicans are expected to use the rest of their time to confirm nominees before leaving for the holidays in mid-December. Democrats are unlikely to advance Trump’s nominees once they take over the Senate majority. 

A Senate GOP aide told States Newsroom that confirming judicial nominees will be a top priority in the coming session, in addition to funding the government, approving a farm bill and passing the annual defense policy bill. 

Sen. Kevin Cramer, however, continues to block confirmation of “any and all” of Trump's nominees to pressure the administration to eliminate a President Joe Biden-era rule dealing with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wetland easements that the North Dakota Republican has said harm his state’s property owners.

After FWS Director Brian Nesvik visited North Dakota in October, Cramer said he would release a few more of his holds, according to his office. 

Cramer has been willing to incrementally lift the holds based on progress he sees from the administration, allowing the confirmation of Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling. Cramer has also lifted a hold on Chris Klomp, nominee for deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Overdue farm bill

The farm bill, a substantial package of agriculture aid and nutrition programs, was supposed to become law years ago, but hasn’t amid long-running disagreements between the two parties. 

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., said in a statement he hoped to finally reach a deal in the next few weeks, an accomplishment that will require support from Democrats. 

“Family farmers contending with numerous challenges to their viability cannot afford another Farm Bill delay,” he said. “Producers and rural communities are counting on us to deliver the predictability, certainty and support that a modernized Farm Bill provides. Congress has the opportunity to show them we understand how urgently they need these critical updates and I remain committed to helping get them signed into law this year.”

The Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version of the farm bill in September but it didn’t garner bipartisan support. 

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, R-Pa., said in a statement that moving “a full, five-year farm bill across the finish line remains a top priority of mine as we look to the remaining legislative days of 2026. American producers and consumers cannot afford to wait any longer.”

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Angie Craig, ranking member on the committee, said in a statement she remains “engaged in bipartisan, bicameral conversations” to address the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, allowing a gasoline blend with 15% ethanol and other priorities.

“I remain deeply committed to addressing the unfunded SNAP mandate that Republicans forced onto states and counties,” she said. “Family farmers across the country are hurting right now and desperately want to see a farm bill that opens up domestic markets, like year-round E15, robustly funds conservation programs which are relied upon to boost farm income, and provides certainty for the next five years. I will continue to work with my colleagues to address these issues and more in the coming weeks."

Defense authorization, college sports bills

Congress could reach a final deal on the massive defense policy bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, that lawmakers have approved annually for more than 60 years. 

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said in a statement that passing “the NDAA continues to be my highest priority, and I’m confident we can get this across the finish line.”

“This legislation is crucial to our national security, and a failure to pass it would not only weaken American deterrence, but also abandon critical support for our men and women in uniform, including a pay raise and better access to healthcare and childcare,” he said. 

House Republican leadership will have to decide whether to put a college sports bill the Senate approved earlier this year up for a vote, a step its supporters say must happen this year. 

A spokesperson for the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee said in a statement there “is no realistic path to secure the same broad, bipartisan support for a new bill in 2027 and beyond. 

“Passing the Senate-approved bipartisan bill through the House and sending it to the President’s desk during the lame duck Congress gives House Republicans an opportunity to close out the 119th Congress with a significant win for President Trump, HBCUs, women’s sports, and student athletes,” the spokesperson wrote. “An attempt to amend it would be a surefire defeat for the colleges and fans counting on PCSA’s enactment.”

House GOP leaders will also have to decide whether to debate and vote on a permitting reform bill that a bipartisan group of senators released in late September. The Senate is scheduled to take its first procedural vote on the legislation, which aims to speed construction of public projects by streamlining regulatory reviews, this week.

GOP leadership shuffle and ethics overhaul

In addition to work on legislation, the House could change its rules to address the various types of ethics violations that lawmakers engaged in during the last couple years. 

Florida Republican Rep. Kat Cammack and New Mexico Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández have worked together for months on a way to force better behavior.

Off the floor, House Republicans will vote behind closed doors to decide who will lead them in the minority during the next Congress. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced this week he will not seek to remain at the helm of the House GOP, setting up a race between Republican Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio. 

The other three congressional leaders — House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican Leader John Thune — are all expected to remain in charge of their various conferences.