WASHINGTON — The House is scheduled to return Monday from a five-week summer recess with a top priority of avoiding a government shutdown before the midterm elections.The House will only be in session for four days this week and will return again on Sept.14, after Labor Day, when the Senate will also come back from its lengthy break.
From there, the House has just three weeks left in session before Election Day on Nov.3.Here’s what could be on the agenda for House Republican leaders before the midterms, when their paper-thin majority will be on the line:Fund the government and prevent a shutdownThis week, the House is expected to take up a Senate-passed bill to prevent a government shutdown, according to a Republican leadership aide.
Money is currently expected to expire for federal departments and agencies on Oct.1.It’s the main item on the agenda, the only critical deadline requiring action before the midterm elections.If it passes, the bill would go to President Donald Trump to become law and keep funds flowing through Dec.
11.That would buy time for a larger government funding deal, on which negotiations have stalled out.
The result of the midterm elections will shape the talks, with the 2026 winners likely to feel empowered.The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 90-6, continuing funding on autopilot without major changes and thereby staying non-controversial.It includes a few add-ons that were negotiated by both parties: restricting Trump’s power to cut off federal grants to blue states that didn’t vote for him and preserving food assistance programs like SNAP and WIC, as well as disaster relief.The bill is expected to be fast-tracked to the House floor on “suspension,” skipping committee hurdles and requiring a two-thirds majority to pass.
It’s likely to pass by a big margin, unless Trump jumps in with last-minute demands as he has with some past funding deals.Chuck Edwards censure voteDuring the August recess, the bipartisan House...