Government shutdown, Epstein files, DC crime: Congress returns to mountain of drama

House and Senate members will return to Washington from their homes in the coming weeks to face a key battle.

Tuesday marked the end of the annual August tribunal for Congress, with lawmakers experiencing several deadlines, from avoiding local government closures to potentially expanding the president Donald Trump’s Capture the DC police force.

Comer Suppoenas Clintons, Trump’s Epstein Prope overseen by On House of Justice

Government funds

The House and Senate will only overlap for 14 days between the government funding deadline Tuesday to September 30, and there is no agreement yet in fiscal year 2026.

Stop expansion of funding levels in fiscal 2025 (called continuous resolution (CR)) may need to be avoided closurewhich could have politically destructive consequences for Republicans to control Congress and the White House.

Democrats are unhappy with the Republican efforts to withdraw funds through the revocation process, which shows that they are ready to play a hard ball.

Any funding bill needs to pass the private threshold of the Senate, meaning that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (Rs.d.) can only lose some votes. Senate Minority Leader Chuck SchumerDN.Y. is still calling for a bipartisan process, but the trust in the aisle has lost weight.

A White House official told reporters Friday they believe a clean CR, which means no change or affiliated riders will put Democrats in difficulties, and those who refuse will blame the left.

But Republicans themselves will have little room for error. Between now and September 30, a special election with two secure blue seats is expected to shrink the home Republican majority from three seats.

Congressional Republicans face bruises to avoid government shutdowns

Epstein Documents

The bipartisan effort is to release a family vote on Jeffrey Epstein’s Department of Justice (DOJ) record this week, and is expected to go all out this week, although the Justice Department has agreed to hand over a set of documents to the House Oversight Committee.

represent. Thomas Massir-ky. and D-Calif. Ro Khanna leads the so-called discharge petition, a mechanism for forcing legislative votes on the will of House leaders. That is the petition received signatures from most members of the House of Representatives.

R-la. Speaker Mike Johnson publicly condemned the work in July, dismissing it as a tool of minority parties and asserting that all Republicans favor Epstein’s case transparency.

Khanna told NBC News’ “Meeting Media” over the weekend that the petition will go live on September 2 and that he and Massie have enough commitment to force the vote.

Capitol Hill prepares for Trump’s crime plan, high-risk battles at the District of Columbia Police Department

DC Police Order

This week will also see Trump’s 30-day end Washington, DC, Police forces ban Congress from taking action to expand it.

Trump’s Met Police Department (MPD) last month was part of a broad effort to combat crime in the capital. Under the Domestic Rule Act in Washington, D.C., his power over local police can last for 30 days unless Congress passes a joint resolution.

However, the president suggested in August that he could bypass the issue on the issue if he declared a national emergency, which some Republicans are already joining. Additionally, there is no legal end date for Trump to deploy federal forces to the area.

It is unclear which route will be taken, but last month’s leadership aide told Fox News Digital that House leaders are working with the White House to develop a series of legislation targeting DC crimes.

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Trump’s nominee

Senate Republicans There was no agreement to advance dozens of low-level nominations before leaving Washington last month.

Currently, Trump plans to arrange 145 nominees on his execution calendar, and is expected to go through the committee as lawmakers continue their workflow.

Republicans are willing to verify Senate Democrats to get their nominees passed. This would mean that there are no Democrats who unilaterally change the rules of the House of Lords without weighting.

Senate Republicans will meet this week to discuss changes to the proposed rule, which may include shortening debates for some nominees, bundling nominees, or skipping intraday votes as some nominees.