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After a six-week recess for the election, Congress returns to Capitol Hill for the “lame duck,” featuring significant legislative items needing their attention before the end of the 118th Congress. Lawmakers face a lengthy to-do list. Fiscal year funding will run out on December 20. The Senate will be in session for 24 legislative days and the House for just 20 days. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024, Farm Bill, and a disaster relief package, including the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), are all items Congress will need to act on by the end of the year.
Following the November 5 election, President-elect Donald Trump won the presidential election with the electoral college of 312-226, Senate Republicans took over control of the Senate 53-47, and House Republicans are assured to maintain a slim majority in the House – with an expectation of controlling between 221 to 223 seats-, Republicans will hold a trifecta in Washington, D.C. When the 119th Congress commences along with Donald Trump taking office in January the trifecta will allow for the Republican party to move legislative pieces through with little opposition from Democrats other than the Senate’s filibuster.
The Trump transition team is working quickly to fill roles in the administration. After his election win, Trump announced he would appoint Susan Wiles as White House Chief of Staff. Trump has made a series of other staffing announcements in recent days. So far, he announced plans to nominate Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as Secretary of State, former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) as the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) as National Security Adviser, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) as United Nations Ambassador, Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, and John Ratcliffe as Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director. Former Trump Administration official Stephen Miller will rejoin as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, and Tom Homan will serve as “Border Czar.” Notably, with several races in the House left uncalled, Reps. Stefanik and Waltz could impact the expected slim House Republican majority, potentially challenging the House’s ability to govern in the early days of the 119th Congress.
The House Republican Conference will vote on leadership on Wednesday. House Republicans are expected to utilize the same leadership structure from the 118th Congress, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his team (Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.)) as they have formally announced their bids to return as the House Republican leadership. Speaker Johnson has indicated that the House is fully prepared to implement Donald Trump’s legislative agenda. The only leadership team member that will change is the House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, who was named Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Reps. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) and Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) will run to fill the role. Hard-line conservatives are potentially plotting a challenge to current Speaker Johnson. House Democrats will hold their leadership elections on November 19, and many expect House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) to retain their roles without opposition.
The race for Senate majority leader is heating up as long-term Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) plans to step out of leadership, leaving Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) vying for his role as leader of Senate Republicans. The two most likely candidates to take McConnell’s place, Sens. Thune and Cornyn, are the front runners, but conservative and Trump-ally Scott has seen his longshot odds increase over the potential Trump endorsement of his candidacy even though many have called on the president-elect to stay out of the race. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) will hold a candidate forum on Tuesday, and the Republican Senators will vote in secret ballots on Wednesday.
Hou use Republican leaders Speaker Johnson and House Majority Leader Scalise will meet with Trump on Wednesday, November 13, in the Capitol. Majority Leader Scalise is on record saying he wants to temporarily fund the government through September 30, 2025, to avoid delays in the President’s legislative agenda. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) mentioned her concerns about a year-long Continuing Resolution (CR) as it could lead to a 5% cut in defense spending. Other GOP lawmakers have floated a temporary measure to fund the government into March 2025. The remaining “lame duck” items will continue to take shape after party elections in both chambers and internal discussions on a path forward, emphasizing the early days of 2025. Congress will more than likely move quickly with NDAA, as the annual process has received bi-partisan support and cooperation since its first consideration in 1961. Regarding the reauthorization of the farm bill, Congress will not take up full reauthorization. Instead, they will opt to extend some expiring provisions and make the full reauthorization a prominent piece of legislation for next year to craft a plan with little resistance from Democrats. A disaster relief package totaling more than $100 billion could get directly tied to the inevitable CR that Congress passes.
The House will consider 15 bills under suspension of the rules, including the Federal Register Modernization Act (H.R. 9592), which would allow for the Government Publishing Office to no longer have to publish physical copies of the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations. The House will also vote on the Vote by Mail Tracking Act (H.R. 5658), which would require Mail ballots to contain a barcode that allows tracking and includes the official Election Mail logo; and the Eliminate Useless Reports Act (H.R. 5301), which would require federal agencies to list reporting requirements they consider outdated or duplicative in their annual budget justification to Congress, and recommend whether to remove or modify the requirements. The House also plans to vote on an earlier application deadline for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid the FAFSA Deadline Act (H.R. 8932) includes critical materials in the definition of critical mineral, the Critical Mineral Consistency Act of 2024 (H.R. 8446), and waive the federal drilling permit requirement for certain geothermal energy activities, the Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources (HEATS) Act (H.R. 7409). The Senate will vote this week on April Perry to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.
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