GOP faces jam-packed September with funding, reconciliation on agenda

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The Hill's Headlines (PM) - August 25, 2026

The Hill's Headlines (PM) - August 25, 2026

Republicans in both chambers are staring down a September sprint after returning from August recess, with a jam-packed legislative agenda and little time to clear their biggest remaining priorities before the midterm election crunch.

At the top of the House’s list is passing a short-term stopgap spending measure — also known as a continuing resolution (CR) — to avert a potential shutdown and keep the government funded past the Sept. 30 fiscal deadline. 

What will likely be more of a headache for the GOP in both chambers is trying to push through a third reconciliation package that President Trump has been clamoring for.

The House passed a budget blueprint last month that outlined $73 billion in defense and intelligence funding, $12 billion for agriculture aid and $10 billion for a fund aimed at incentivizing states to adopt Trump-backed voting restrictions.

But a number of Republicans in the upper chamber railed against the House-passed budget resolution. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the Senate Budget Committee’s chair, released the GOP version of the budget resolution in early August, which the chamber didn’t take up before leaving for its recess.

In addition, the Senate ended up reaching a deal to postpone action on a college sports bill pushed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after failing to agree on whether to hold votes to proceed to the bill. The Senate, however, did pass a bill to expand sanctions targeting Russia, which the House is expected to take up when the lower chamber returns from its recess.

The annual defense policy bill, the farm bill and a measure to reauthorize the nation’s foreign spy powers are also on the list of unfinished congressional business, though priorities will almost certainly slip until after the midterms.

The lower chamber returns next week, only to leave Washington again the week after, while the upper chamber isn’t slated to return until Sept. 14. That leaves Republicans in the House and Senate with........

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