| September is here, which means Congress is back in session with a lot on its plate. |
| Both chambers return Sept. 2 after a month in their districts with constituents. |
| Here’s what to look for. |
| Funding is scheduled to run out on Sept. 30 under a stopgap spending bill approved by Congress in March. |
| Both chambers will need to pass, and President Donald Trump will need to sign, 12 funding bills to avert a complete or partial government shutdown. None has yet made it to his desk. |
| The toughest challenge for the spending bills will be the Senate, where Republicans will need the support of seven Democrats to overcome a filibuster. |
| Republicans may need to resort to passing a stopgap bill to fund the government. |
| Lawmakers will also address a White House request to cut $4.9 billion in foreign aid, a request known as a rescission. |
| Trump proposed the cuts on Aug. 28, and the White House released the request on Aug. 29. |
| The funds requested for cancellation were allocated to the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is in the process of being shuttered by the Trump administration. |
| The request is authorized under the Impoundment Control Act, which allows presidential requests that Congress rescind funding for a federal agency or project. Congress then has 45 days to approve the request. |
| The current request is known as a “pocket rescission,” which can enable the president to cancel funding without the approval of Congress by submitting a request late in the fiscal year. |
| Because the $4.9 billion request was released late in the fiscal year, the request will be automatically allowed to proceed if Congress doesn’t vote to reject it before the Sept. 30 funding deadline. |
| Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought has defended the system, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper that pocket rescissions are “one of our executive tools. It’s been used before.” |
| Senate Republicans will also continue their efforts to confirm Trump’s executive appointees, which have been slowed by Democratic procedural moves. |
| While it takes a simple majority to confirm nominees, Senate rules make it arduous to confirm nominees one by one. |
| Unanimous consent, where there is no objection from a senator, allows a nominee to be confirmed without a roll call vote. Democrats have refused to provide such consent, running out the clock on their time for each nominee. |
| That has led some Senate Republicans, including Thune, to contemplate changing the Senate rules in order to allow for nominees to be confirmed expeditiously. |
| “I think they’re desperately in need of change,” Thune said. “I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations, is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that.” |
| Democrats have further blocked nominations through refusal to return their “blue slips,” a tradition that allows senators to approve or block a judicial or U.S. attorney nomination for their home state. |
| Lawmakers could also be asked to extend Trump’s authority to control Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). |
| Under Section 740 of the Home Rule Act, the president can take control of the local police force for up to 48 hours and can renew the authority for up to 30 days. Afterward, Congress would need to sign off on continued federalization. |
| Trump made such a move in August. |
| The White House has been ambivalent about asking Congress for an extension. |
| White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration “will re-evaluate ... and make further decisions after this 30-day period is up.” |
| “[During the 30 days,] our entire focus is making sure that this is the most efficient operation possible, and that we are removing as many criminals from the streets, and we are cleaning up D.C. as best as we can,” Leavitt said. |
| Any move by Congress to extend Trump’s authority would require the consent of at least seven Democrats in the Senate. |
| House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) could also be forced to allow votes on a bill to release sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s case files to the public and on a bill to ban stock trading by sitting members of Congress. |
| Both bills could be brought to the floor using a discharge petition, a parliamentary maneuver that enables rank-and-file members to bypass leadership and force a vote on a bill. The process requires that 218 lawmakers, a majority of the House, sign on. |
| Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is attempting to use a discharge petition to force a vote on a bill ordering the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files within 30 days. Several Democrats have signed onto the effort. |
| “We all deserve to know what’s in the Epstein files, who’s implicated, and how deep this corruption goes,” Massie said in a July 15 statement. |
| Johnson told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on July 27 that the discharge petition was “reckless,” saying that the files should be released in a way that protects innocent people whose names are mentioned. |
| The issue of congressional stock trading could also come to the forefront as Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) plans to use a discharge petition to force a vote on her bill to ban congressional stock trading. |
| The idea itself has wide bipartisan support: Trump, Johnson, Jeffries, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have all agreed with banning the practice. |
| However, Luna’s bills landed after several bills on the subject had already been introduced in both chambers, which had been the subject of months of discussions between Republicans and Democrats. |
| —Joseph Lord, Jackson Richman |
| BOOKMARKS |
| For years, the Chinese communist regime has been accused of fueling the fentanyl epidemic in the United States. The Epoch Times’ Emel Akan reported that the claim has gained renewed attention after Trump imposed tariffs on goods from China as well as Mexico and Canada, citing their role in the drug crisis. |
| Schenectady, New York, is one of several school districts that have implemented a “grading for equity” policy in response to dismal test scores. However, The Epoch Times’ Aaron Gifford reported, a recent national survey indicates that most teachers feel such policies actually hurt students long-term. |
| Cracker Barrel’s recent attempt at rebranding caused a firestorm over the company’s decision to remove the “Old Timer” from its brand logo. The Epoch Times’ Allan Stein reported that customers are glad to see it return after the company yielded to public pressure despite a new ad campaign. |
