By Alexis Simedinger
As the remaining ballots are being counted in House and Senate races, Congress returns to Washington next week for the lame duck period.
Republican electoral wins in the presidential race and the Senate are changing the game when it comes to government funding, as Congress braces for a battle over federal spending, writes The Hill’s Aris Folley. The likelihood of a trifecta of Republican control in Washington is positioning GOP leaders squarely in the driver’s seat in deciding whether to complete their annual funding work this year or punt the current Dec. 20 shutdown deadline into next year, when President-elect Trumpis in office.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell(R-Ky.), who is stepping down from the leadership post but remaining in the Senate next year, said Wednesday he thinks “deciding how to spend the discretionary money that we have” is “important.”
“And I would hope we would put a greater priority than the current Senate has on doing the basic work of government, which is deciding how much to spend and getting it done as close to regular order as possible,” he said.
A short-term stopgap would allow a potentially GOP-controlled Congress and a Republican president more say over how the government will be funded for much of 2025. But it could also leave the party with a hefty to-do list in the first months of the Trump presidency, as leaders mull spending cuts, reckon with the nation’s debt ceiling, and tie up other first 100-day priorities.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro(D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said Thursday that Congress should pass a bill this year that covers most of 2025.
“Whether we do it now or wait until next year, no single chamber or political party can act alone to fund the programs and services hardworking Americans depend on,” she said. “Leaving all our work for January is a mistake.”
Also on the GOP agenda: The Senate leadership race to succeed McConnell is scheduled Nov. 13. Senate Republicans are tussling over whether Trump should play a role in the race. Senate GOP Whip John Thune (S.D.) said on CNN Wednesday that Trump should stay out of it, comments that his opponents are now highlighting.
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.), the underdog in the race, is touting his close alliance with Trump — but he’ll need the president-elect to endorse him if he wants to improve his odds of being elected by his colleagues to the job. Falling in the middle is Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who has a better relationship with Trump than Thune, but isn’t as close with the incoming president as Scott.
Allies of Thune’s two rivals in the leadership race said calls for Trump to stay out of the race indicate Thune is nervous that the president-elect would endorse either Cornyn or Scott — which would be a serious setback.
“He’s terrified,” a Senate Republican aide said. “He knows that Trump won’t endorse him. If he knows that, then Trump getting involved hurts him.”
But weeks before the election, Trump privately dismissed Scott’s leadership bid, telling allies it is “not serious,” Axios reports.
Senate races: Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen (D) won reelection in a state Trump captured Tuesday, an example of voters’ split tickets. Nevada backed a Republican presidential nominee for the first time in 20 years. The Hill/Decision Desk HQ has not yet called the Pennsylvania Senate race between RepublicanDavid McCormickand three-term incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D).
“He’s terrified,” a Senate Republican aide said. “He knows that Trump won’t endorse him. If he knows that, then Trump getting involved hurts him.”
But weeks before the election, Trump privately dismissed Scott’s leadership bid, telling allies it is “not serious,” Axios reports.
Two House Democrats said they oppose transgender athletes competing in women’s sports in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s victory, shifting right of their previous policy positions and deepening fractures within a bruised Democratic Party.
Some in the Trump campaign didn’t think they would win in 2016 and as a result, the transition from the Obama era was rocky.
Former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said on NewsNation this week that “Trump Cabinet 2.0 is going to be better than 1.0.” Indeed — they will hit the ground running.
Most of Trump’s nominees are expected to sail through a Senate that will have a healthy Republican majority.
Trump is considering many people for his team, ranging from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum(R) to hedge fund manager John Paulson.
The Trump Cabinet is also expected to include a number of Republican lawmakers. Some names that have been floated include Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.).
Passing big ticket items is never easy, so it’s wise for Trump to dip into the Capitol Hill pool because members of Congress know what can get the votes and what can’t.