The U.S. Congress begins its year-end session with a Dec. 11 deadline to fund the government and an unresolved farm bill, despite the Democratic victory in the midterm elections.
Although voters gave Democrats control of Congress in the midterm elections, Republicans will remain in charge of both chambers during the lame-duck session that spans November and December. The roughly five-week schedule, which begins Monday, gives Republican leaders a chance to wrap up unfinished work before handing over power when the new Congress convenes in early January.
The immediate priority is to pass a government funding bill before Dec. 11 to avoid another shutdown. Democrats and Republicans do not have enough time to negotiate a bipartisan agreement on the twelve full-year appropriations bills, which will likely total around $1.9 trillion. That means lawmakers will have to turn to another stopgap spending measure to extend funding into next year, when Democrats will lead the negotiation with President Donald Trump.
The farm bill, a broad package of agricultural support and nutrition programs, was supposed to become law years ago but has not, amid prolonged disagreements between the two parties. The Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version in September, though without bipartisan backing. Committee Chairman Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said that "Family farmers contending with numerous challenges to their viability cannot afford another Farm Bill delay" and added that "Congress has the opportunity to show them we understand how urgently they need these critical updates and I remain committed to helping get them signed into law this year."
In the House, Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "G.T." Thompson, R-Pa., maintained that getting "a full, five-year farm bill across the finish line remains a top priority of mine as we look to the remaining legislative days of 2026. American producers and consumers cannot afford to wait any longer." Democrat Angie Craig, the committee's ranking member, called for addressing "the unfunded SNAP mandate that Republicans forced onto states and counties" and said that farmers "desperately want to see a farm bill that opens up domestic markets, like year-round E15, robustly funds conservation programs... and provides certainty for the next five years."
The election results redefined the negotiating landscape. According to Politico, "a remarkable streak of wins in farm country battlegrounds delivered Democrats majority control of Congress on Tuesday. Now Democrats have to put a vision for food and agriculture policy into action." Progressive Farmer noted that "Democrats will face pressure to address rising fuel and agricultural input costs, trade concerns and the effects of global conflicts on agricultural markets while needing to find compromises with the White House."
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called a two-year, $18 billion SNAP cost-share arrangement "irresponsible," but left the door open to a compromise. "I hate to talk about compromising on getting fraud out of food stamps, but there may be some sort of compromise. We'll have to do it with the Democrats to get 60 votes to get the bill out," he said, adding: "It'll take some compromise, maybe on this food stamp issue." He also explained: "On the other hand, we have a chance of getting E15 if we get this farm bill passed, and that's $14 billion more in the pockets of farmers, so that's what I've got to analyze." Boozman had called the one-year SNAP cost-share delay Republicans' and the White House's final offer.
However, consultant Mary Kay Thatcher voiced skepticism about a full farm bill being approved this year and predicted: "We are going to have a farm bill extension... I have no doubt that that will happen." In parallel, former Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp considered the election result to be "a reset button for bipartisanship as it relates to the farm bill and as it relates to agricultural policy," and former lawmaker Collin Peterson warned that "You can't run farm policy on just one party," because "farmers are going to get whipsawed."
Congress could also reach a final agreement on the annual defense policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which lawmakers have approved for more than 60 years. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said that "the NDAA continues to be my highest priority, and I'm confident we can get this across the finish line" and warned that failing to pass it "would not only weaken American deterrence, but also abandon critical support for our men and women in uniform, including a pay raise and better access to healthcare and childcare."
House Republican leadership will have to decide whether to bring up for a vote a college sports bill the Senate approved earlier this year, as well as a bipartisan permitting reform bill that seeks to speed construction of public works. A spokesperson for the Senate Commerce Committee said that "there is no realistic path to secure the same broad, bipartisan support for a new bill in 2027 and beyond" and that passing it in the House would provide "a significant win for President Trump, HBCUs, women's sports, and student athletes."
In the Senate, Republicans are expected to use the remaining time to confirm nominees before the mid-December holidays, with judicial appointments as a priority. However, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., continues to block confirmation of Trump's nominees to pressure the administration to eliminate a Joe Biden-era rule on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wetland easements, though he has been gradually lifting some of the holds.
Off the floor, House Republicans will vote behind closed doors to choose their minority leader, after Speaker Mike Johnson announced he will not seek to remain at the helm, opening a race between Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio. The other three congressional leaders — Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer and John Thune — would remain at the head of their respective conferences. In addition, the House could change its rules to address the ethics violations of recent years, in an effort led by Republican Kat Cammack and Democrat Teresa Leger Fernández.
