Congress returns Tuesday from its month-long August recess facing a busy and contentious September, with the threat of a government shutdown at month’s end topping the agenda.
Government funding is set to expire Sept. 30, and Democrats are expected to play a pivotal role in avoiding a shutdown. Party leaders are under pressure from their base to push back against the Trump administration following a series of consequential policy decisions in recent months. With no clear resolution in sight, negotiations over funding are expected to dominate the month.
Other high-profile issues are also set to take center stage. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will testify before lawmakers Thursday, marking his first appearance since a wave of public health officials were fired or resigned. Lawmakers are expected to press him on his vaccine policy vision, while President Donald Trump has called for pharmaceutical companies to release more COVID-19 data. The testimony comes just days after the CDC revised its COVID vaccine guidelines.
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The return to Washington also brings renewed focus on calls for transparency in the Jeffrey Epstein case, with victims expected to appear on Capitol Hill this week. Lawmakers could also take up a historic measure to ban members of Congress from trading stocks — a proposal that has gained bipartisan attention.
Meanwhile, President Trump, who has kept a low profile through the extended Labor Day weekend, is expected to make a public appearance Tuesday afternoon.
With a packed legislative calendar and political tensions high, lawmakers are bracing for a month of contentious debates that could have lasting national repercussions.
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