Congress Watch · Report · File No. 261106-773
GOP's lame-duck push on Trump's agenda stalls after election losses; funding likely delayed
Republican aides say plans to pass Pentagon money, a farm bill and permitting reform before January are fading. Government funding runs out Dec. 11, and a stopgap bill looks likely.
Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work
Republicans' hopes of finishing a large part of President Trump's agenda before they lose control of Congress are fading, according to Republican aides who spoke to The Hill. They point to the party's heavy losses in Tuesday's election 1.
Democrats picked up at least seven Senate seats and at least 39 House seats, The Hill reports 1. Senate Republican sources say the pre-election talk of a budget reconciliation bill to fund the Pentagon and the Iran war now looks unlikely. Reconciliation is a fast-track process that lets the Senate avoid a Democratic filibuster 1.
Government funding likely pushed into 2027
Government funding is due to expire on Dec. 11 1. Democrats say Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins of Maine, who lost her seat to Democrat Troy Jackson, has not released any drafts of Republican spending bills 1.
Democrats say Trump's insistence on $1.5 trillion for defense, with hardly any increase for non-defense social programs, effectively derailed this year's spending process 1. Both parties' sources now expect a continuing resolution, or CR. That is a short-term bill that keeps agencies open, probably through March 1.
From Channel GOPChuck Schumer: Democrats have won the SenateChuck Schumer · 169 plays · captioned, with the source named
That would leave the new Democratic House and Senate majorities to write their own spending bills for votes in late March or April 1.
Other bills in doubt
Congress has passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the yearly defense policy bill, for 65 years in a row. That streak is now at risk 1. Republican aides also question whether the farm bill, a top priority of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, can pass before Christmas 1.
A bipartisan permitting reform bill is scheduled for the Senate floor next week 1. One Republican aide said "I'll be surprised" if it passes 1.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said only that he "hoped" the bipartisan group would reach a deal. Republicans see that as a retreat from the confidence of Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich and Sheldon Whitehouse weeks ago 1.
We have a bipartisan group working on permitting reform and hopefully they'll come up
Not every Republican has given up. Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania recently named the NDAA, permitting reform and a third reconciliation bill as lame-duck priorities 2.
Historically, the lame-duck sessions are some of the most productive in the history of the Senate.
House math is another problem. Republicans hold a 218-seat majority, so a few absences could sink a party-line bill. One GOP aide doubts Speaker Mike Johnson can get every member back for a six-week sprint 1.
Why it matters
That leaves decisions on health, food and benefit programs to the new Congress in 2027. Republicans still control Congress until January, and Senate Republicans are also working on a package of Trump nominees to confirm before they lose the majority 1.
The Record
Republish this story on your site or in your newsletter
Any site, blog or newsletter may run this story free of charge. Keep the credit line and its link to the original, do not sell it, and edit only for length or house style (the full terms). Photos carry their own licenses, noted under each photo on this page, so use the text alone unless a credit says otherwise.
Paste it into your editor's HTML view. The one-pixel image at the end tells our newsroom the story ran; it stores no reader data.
Sources
- The Hill, “GOP's final sprint on Trump agenda loses steam after election rout” (2026-11-06). thehill.com/homenews/senate/6202573-gop-loses-hope-trump-age
- Broad and Liberty, “Sen. McCormick hopes the Senate will be able to pass some bills in the Lame Duck session” (2026-11-06). broadandliberty.com/2026/11/06/sen-mccormick-hopes-the-senat
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
More from the files
Republicans eye lame-duck debt-limit and defense bills, but face votes, rules and time
GOP leaders could use the weeks after Tuesday's election to raise the debt limit and pass defense and funding bills before the new Congress starts Jan. 3. Their own members doubt they have the votes, the attendance or the time.
Thune said voters deserved a say on the court in 2016. In July he said a lame-duck pick can be done
In 2016, Senate Republican John Thune said the next president should fill a Supreme Court seat, and his office said it would not support lame-duck hearings for Merrick Garland. In July, before voters handed the Senate to Democrats, the majority leader said confirming a justice in the lame-duck session 'can be done.'
Congress's 65-year run of passing a defense bill is at risk over Iran war and cost
The annual National Defense Authorization Act has passed every year for 65 years. This year Democrats and the White House are far apart on the bill's price and on the Iran war, and talks wait until after Tuesday's election.
Delivered free to your door*
The Morning Edition
One short email at 7 a.m. Eastern: the day's top files, one clip worth your time, and the race to watch. Plain English, large type, no clutter.
*Your inbox. Free. Unsubscribe with one click, any time.