The lame duck Congress has four remaining weeks before it is scheduled to adjourn for the year. Even if it stays in session through Christmas and New Year’s, that still only gives representatives and senators six more weeks of work. There is a lot to be done. Unless the White House wants to start 2027 in a severely weakened position, President Donald Trump needs to tell Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) what he wants to prioritize.
First, Congress must fund the government before the current spending agreement expires on Dec. 11. Republicans could pass another short-term continuing resolution to keep the government open into the new year, but doing so would leave Trump in a terrible bargaining position. Newly elected Democratic majorities in both chambers would have tremendous leverage to force their far-left spending priorities on the White House, including handing the Strait of Hormuz back to Iran, reopening the borders by defunding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and sending inflation even higher by adding trillions of dollars in spending on Affordable Care Act subsidies and Medicaid.
Republicans could delay this damage for at least a year and possibly more by passing a third reconciliation bill with just 50 votes, but that takes time. First the Senate and then the House must pass resolutions through relevant committees, and that work has not yet begun. “Right now, I’m not getting engagement from the White House, from either Senate or House leadership,” Senate Budget Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) told reporters this week.
If the White House wants a third reconciliation bill, it needs to communicate that to Johnson and tell him what the administration wants in it, and fast. While Congress has failed for 30 years to pass all 12 appropriations bills, usually the Senate Appropriations Committee has sent some to the floor. This year it passed nothing, meaning the contours of a bipartisan deal are nowhere to be found. Either it is time for reconciliation again, or Republicans will need to make concessions to keep the government open.
Then there are the items not essential but which are a high priority for the White House, including confirming remaining judicial nominees, completing the National Defense Authorization Act, renewing surveillance authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and passing permitting reform to accelerate energy and infrastructure construction. The Senate started permitting reform and is expected to finish next week, which is a normal pace for it. But it simply does not have the time to approach every other priority at a normal speed. Priorities will have to be set. Scarce time will have to be given to some items and none to others. Senate Republicans need guidance on what the White House feels is most important.
Trump will have to live with the consequences of whatever Republicans leave unfinished. Without additional military funding, he will find himself trying to keep the Strait of Hormuz open without the resources to sustain naval operations. Judicial nominees left unconfirmed would languish for the rest of his presidency under a Democratic Senate. Failing to renew FISA’s surveillance authority would leave his administration with fewer tools to detect terrorist plots before they become attacks on American soil.
The president therefore needs to bring Republican leaders to the White House, agree on a realistic agenda, and make clear which objectives take precedence. He needs to identify Republican holdouts, hear their objections, and negotiate agreements that can pass. Announcing that he wants everything accomplished does nothing to resolve the choices facing Thune.
EDITORIAL: DEMOCRATS CAN’T LOWER GAS PRICES BY HANDING HORMUZ TO IRAN
Thune has said he is willing to extend the Senate’s calendar. Trump should match that commitment with sustained attention to the work that needs to be done. Every dispute resolved now is one obstacle fewer standing between his administration and its objectives next year.
Democrats will have ample power to frustrate Trump beginning in January. He should not spend the remaining weeks of Republican control making that task easier.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
