With the midterm results in hand, Congress has returned to Washington for a short, crowded lame-duck session before the holidays.
Current government funding runs out on December 11, and without a new agreement lawmakers risk another lapse in federal operations. The United States has already been through repeated funding fights this year, including a lengthy shutdown that ran from October 2025 into mid-November 2025 and a shorter one earlier in 2026, so there is little appetite on either side for a repeat. Beyond funding, the House and Senate still need to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill that sets policy and spending levels for the military, and lawmakers may also take up permitting reform and rules covering congressional stock trading.
The political dynamics this year are unusual. Congressional Democrats are weighing whether to use the funding deadline as leverage to press for an end to the ongoing conflict involving Iran, a sign of how foreign policy and the budget calendar have become intertwined in this session. At the same time, several newly elected Senate Democrats have not yet committed to supporting Chuck Schumer as majority leader, underscoring that leadership questions remain unsettled even as the party prepares to take a stronger hand in the chamber.
Because this is a lame-duck session, Republicans still hold the gavel in both chambers for now, even though Democrats will take over the House outright in January. That gives the outgoing majority a final window to finish business on its own terms, while Democrats have less incentive to make that easy, since they know a much friendlier Congress is just weeks away.
Watch for whether congressional leaders strike a funding deal well before December 11 or push negotiations to the final days, a pattern that has repeated through much of this year's budget fights.
What happens if Congress misses the December 11 deadline?
Federal agencies would face a lapse in funding and a potential shutdown, similar to lapses earlier in 2025 and 2026, unless lawmakers pass a short-term extension.
Why are Democrats linking the funding deadline to Iran policy?
Some congressional Democrats are reportedly considering using the funding deadline as leverage to press for a resolution to the ongoing situation involving Iran.