Congress returns to face chaotic funding fight, Epstein drama, crime crackdown

Washington — Congress returns this week from its August recess staring down a deadline to fund the government and avert a possible shutdown by month's end.

But a handful of other GOP priorities — from cracking down on crime to fast-tracking President Trump's nominees — have bubbled up in recent weeks, along with lingering tensions and partisan disagreements, promising a chaotic return to Washington, and a lengthy to-do list.

Here's what's on lawmakers' agenda as Congress returns:

A familiar deadline is fast approaching, as Congress must race to keep the government funded by Sept. 30.

While the House and Senate each passed a small number of funding bills before leaving Washington for the August recess, the two chambers have been on different pages when it comes to funding levels. Getting all 12 individual appropriations bills through both chambers is unlikely, meaning lawmakers will almost certainly have to rely on a short-term measure to keep the government funded.

The dynamic isn't unusual. Congress regularly struggles to approve the new funding before the end of the fiscal year, opting instead to push the deadline down the road by keeping the government funded at current levels on a temporary basis. But this time around, the funding fight itself has taken on new meaning.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer came under intense scrutiny from his own party during the last funding fight in March. After pledging to fight the GOP plan, which increased defense spending while decreasing non-defense spending below 2024 levels, he changed course at the eleventh hour. Ultimately, Schumer opted to deliver one of the Democratic votes necessary to propel the partisan measure to passage and prevent a shutdown, arguing that a shutdown risked more damage.

This time around, Democratic leaders have worked to engage on the funding issue well ahead of the deadline. Early last month, Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for a "Big Four" meeting with their GOP counterparts to discuss funding the government. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Democrats said that "it is clear that the Trump Administration and many within your party are preparing to 'go it alone' and continue to legislate on a solely Republican basis."

Still, the letter didn't appear to kickstart a bipartisan effort. And Mr. Trump, asked about meeting with the Democratic leaders last month, said he would do it, while saying it's "almost a waste of time to meet because they never approve anything." The Democrats renewed their call for a meeting between congressional leaders last week, writing that the "government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way. That is the only viable path forward."

Meanwhile, Democrats have bemoaned the White House's efforts to claw back already-appropriated funds in what's known as a rescissions package earlier this year, along with a new push by the administration last week to claw back nearly $5 billion in foreign aid funds that Congress already approved. The rarely used maneuver, known as a pocket rescission, is an attempt to rescind funding unilaterally, sparking pushback on Capitol Hill and bipartisan criticism as an "unlawful" move.

"Today's announcement of the Administration's plan to advance an unlawful 'pocket rescission' package is further proof President Trump and Congressional Republicans are hellbent on rejecting bipartisanship and 'going it alone' this fall," Schumer said in a statement.

The dynamics put the parties on a collision course heading toward the Sept. 30 deadline.

While Republicans have majorities in the House and Senate, they will need 60 votes in the Senate to keep the government funded, meaning they will need the support of at least seven Democrats.

At the same time, some in the party, including Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, have encouraged Democrats to let the government shut down to protest Mr. Trump's policies.

"We cannot be the only one playing by the rules with a hand tied behind our backs," Martin said. "That old playbook, the norms that, you know, used to have guardrails on our democracy and protect all of us in this country — that doesn't exist anymore. We've got to throw that playbook out the window because the Republicans have."

Senators left Washington after a bruising nominations saga in July. Democrats have slow-walked Mr. Trump's nominees in recent months, putting up procedural hurdles to delay confirmations nearly across the board. Senate Democrats were unable to come to an agreement with the White House in an episode that foreshadowed a larger fight to come.

"Donald Trump tried to bully us, go around us, threaten us, call us names — but he got nothing. And he walked away with his tail between his legs," Schumer told reporters before leaving for the August recess.

Schumer has railed against the White House for walking away from a deal involving the release of already appropriated funds in exchange for cooperation from Democrats to swiftly approve a group of nominees. Meanwhile, the president called the Democrat's demands "egregious and unprecedented."

Without a deal, Senate Republicans are expected to pursue changes to the nominations process that would allow them to more swiftly confirm the president's nominees upon their return.

Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Senate Republican, urged in an op-ed last week that it's "time to change Senate confirmation rules" amid what he described as a "bitter fight" over even routine nominations. He said that the Senate GOP is "considering changes to the Senate rules to end the most egregious delay tactics."

"Senate Republicans are determined to confirm Mr. Trump's qualified nominees one way or another," Barrasso wrote.

What the changes look like remains to be seen. Both Democrats and Republicans have made pushes to change the confirmation process in recent years, like by cutting down the time requirements for the nominations and reducing the number of votes needed to a simple majority.

The possible changes to the confirmation process come as a handful of new high-profile nominees are expected to come before the Senate, in addition to the dozens already awaiting votes.

Mr. Trump fired the former Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner last month over a weaker-than-expected July jobs report. He soon announced E.J. Antoni as his nominee to lead the agency. Mr. Trump said in his announcement that Antoni, a fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, "will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE."

But the nominee could face pushback in the Senate, with questions about his experience and comments he's made suggesting the monthly jobs report should be suspended.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is planning to hold a confirmation hearing for Antoni pending completed paperwork, according to a committee spokesperson. The panel includes a handful of Senate Republicans who have pushed back on some of Mr. Trump's most controversial nominees this year: Sen. Bill Cassidy of Tennessee, the committee chairman, along with Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Democrats on the committee demanded that the panel hold a full hearing on Antoni's nomination. And Sen. Patty Murray of Washington called Antoni "an unqualified right-wing extremist who won't think twice about manipulating BLS data."

The Senate is also expected to work to confirm Stephen Miran, the chair of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, to fill a vacated seat on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. Mr. Trump announced the nomination in August after Adriana Kugler stepped down. The Senate Banking Committee is set to hold a confirmation hearing this week. But Democrats on the committee have called for a delay, seeking instead to hold an oversight hearing on Mr. Trump's moves to fire another member of the Fed board.

Last week, Mr. Trump said he had fired another member of the Fed board, Lisa Cook, accusing her of making false statements on mortgage documents. Governors can only be fired "for cause" and Cook has refused to resign. She sued the president to block her firing last week.

The push to oust Susan Monarez, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, could also tee up another Senate confirmation process. The upper chamber confirmed Monarez for the post in late July, though she had been serving as the acting head of the CDC since January. CBS News reported last week that Jim O'Neill, the deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has been selected to serve as the acting director of the CDC.

Mr. Trump has moved to crack down on crime in the nation's capital by federalizing the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department and deploying the National Guard to the district to assist law enforcement. He signaled in recent weeks that he plans to ask Congress to approve "long-term extensions" to maintain control of D.C.'s police, along with other measures to address crime.

In an Aug. 11 executive order, Mr. Trump directed the D.C. mayor to provide the services of D.C. police for federal use "for the maximum period permitted under section 740 of the Home Rule Act," which the president can extend for up to 30 days. Any extension beyond that requires a joint resolution passed by the House and Senate. That could run into trouble in the Senate, where the Republican majority would need the support of at least seven Democrats to move forward.

Mr. Trump also indicated last month that he plans to seek around $2 billion from Congress to renovate the streets of Washington. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said the White House was working on a package "to improve the safety and quality of life in our nation's capital" which he and GOP Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama would spearhead.

"He wants $2.5 billion, I'm going to try to find him the money, to repave the roads, take the graffiti off the building, refurbish the parts and give homeless people some place to go other than a tent on the side of the road," Graham said at an event in South Carolina last month.

Mr. Trump has suggested that his crackdown on crime in D.C. could soon extend to other major cities, though he has unique authority in the nation's capital because the district is ultimately controlled by the federal government. Last week, the president wrote in a post on Truth Social about a crime bill, saying he's working with GOP leaders in Congress on the measure, though the details remained unclear.

"Speaker Mike Johnson, and Leader John Thune, are working with me, and other Republicans, on a Comprehensive Crime Bill," Mr. Trump said. "It's what our Country need, and NOW! More to follow."

Lawmakers were on recess for weeks, but the calls for access to files in the case of late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein haven't gone away.

Controversy has swirled around the Epstein files since the Justice Department issued the findings of an internal review in July that found no "client list" or evidence that Epstein had blackmailed prominent figures. Epstein, a well-connected financier who was convicted of sex trafficking, died in federal custody in 2019. But renewed interest in the files has prompted members of both parties to call for more transparency, while dividing Mr. Trump's base.

As House Democrats and some Republicans pushed for a floor vote to force the release of the Epstein files in late July, Johnson opted to send the House home early. But some lawmakers are still pressing ahead.

Reps. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, introduced legislation in July to compel the Justice Department to release the files within 30 days, with plans to force a vote on the measure once lawmakers return from recess. Massie and Khanna are set to host a news conference at the Capitol Wednesday alongside survivors of Epstein's abuse.

The expected moves in Congress come after the administration late last month released transcripts of a two-day interview with Epstein's longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, that was conducted in Florida in July. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice sent some of the files related to Epstein to the House Oversight Committee, which plans to make the records public after redactions have been made.

Aaron Navarro and Nikole Killion contributed to this report.