Congressional leaders are racing to complete legislative work this session, including a short-term spending bill that must be approved this week to avoid a government shutdown just before the holidays.

The continuing resolution is expected to be agreed soon and must be approved by the House and Senate by midnight Friday.

It will likely include tens of billions of dollars in federal disaster aid to help states devastated by hurricanes Helene and Milton and severe storms in recent months.

Parts of Virginia are still recovering from storm damage and awaiting funding from the Small Business Administration, which has run out of money for loans.

The legislation is also expected to provide funding to replace the Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, which collapsed earlier this year when it was struck by a container ship.

Unlike previous years, it looks like the law will pass early and with minimal political drama.

Congress has consistently relied on passing a full-year budget this year, passing a stopgap spending measure in September before recessing ahead of the November election.

Republicans are eager to address President-elect Donald Trump’s legislative priorities next year as they now control the White House and both chambers of Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson appears to face little opposition as he seeks re-election as GOP leader in January.

Johnson enjoys Trump’s support and attended the Army-Navy game in Landover over the weekend along with other prominent Republicans.

But Republican lawmakers are still undecided on how they will address Trump’s top priorities.

They agree they want to use budget reconciliation legislation, which would allow them to pass legislation through the Senate with a majority vote, avoiding the 60-vote filibuster.

However, they remain divided over whether to combine all their priorities into one or two reconciliation bills.

Johnson has indicated he supports two of them, one involving immigration reform and the other focused on renewing tax cuts enacted during Trump’s first term.

Others worry that immigration, if addressed first, could slow the legislative process and jeopardize efforts to approve tax cuts.

The tax cuts expire at the end of the year.

But before lawmakers can focus on next year, they still have to complete the lame-duck session.

The Senate will vote this week on the $895 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed the House of Representatives in a bipartisan vote last week.

It includes a 14.5% pay increase for junior military personnel and a 4.5% pay increase for the military overall.

Trump nominees prepare for hearings

Trump’s nominee to lead the Health and Human Services Department, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will be on Capitol Hill this week to meet with lawmakers.

Many want to question him about some of his controversial views, including opposition to various vaccines and a desire to remove fluoride from the water supply.

A lawyer advising Kennedy has called on federal regulators to remove the polio vaccine from the market.

That prompted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor, to issue a strong statement last week in support of the vaccine.

“Efforts to undermine public trust in proven remedies are not just uninformed – they are dangerous,” McConnell said. “Anyone seeking Senate approval to serve in the new administration would do well to avoid even the appearance of association with such efforts.”

Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, received another public boost from the president-elect on Saturday. Like Johnson, Hegseth attended the Army-Navy game in Maryland with him.

Hegseth’s nomination got off to a rocky start following reports of public drunkenness, an allegation of sexual assault and questions about his leadership of a veterans organization.

But his supporters launched an offensive on his behalf, and for now it appears he has solidified his path to confirmation

He and other nominees will still face many tough questions when Senate confirmation hearings begin early next year.

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