Congress returned on Monday, Nov. 9, for a lame-duck session in which the outgoing Republican majority must keep the government funded past Dec. 11, CNBC reported, and on the same day Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Republican, formally introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the House floor.
The money deadlines
Government funding expires on Dec. 11. Congress must pass either a continuing resolution or full-year spending bills, and either path needs 60 votes in the Senate, according to CNBC.
Lawmakers must also pass the annual National Defense Authorization Act. The House passed a version in July that authorizes more than $1 trillion, while Senate Democrats blocked their chamber's version that same month over concerns about the war with Iran, CNBC reported.
The debt limit sits behind both. Federal debt reached $40 trillion in September, against a ceiling of $41.1 trillion, leaving about $1.1 trillion of room. The Bipartisan Policy Center says the Treasury is likely to reach its maximum borrowing capacity by mid-summer, and Bank of America estimated on Nov. 6 that the United States may be unable to meet all of its obligations by November 2027, according to CNBC. Sen. Kevin Cramer has urged Republicans to raise the limit before they lose control.
A changed Congress in January
The deadlines fall to a majority that is leaving. Democrats have won at least 255 House seats and could hold as many as 56 in the Senate, CNBC reported. Sen. Susan Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, lost her reelection race to Democrat Troy Jackson.
Sen. Patty Murray, the presumptive next chair of that committee, wrote on X on election night: "The power of the purse belongs to CONGRESS!"
Other unfinished business is also in play. A permitting deal is in jeopardy; the Senate planned a procedural vote on Monday evening, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the likely next speaker, did not support it, Politico reported, according to CNBC. The Stop Insider Trading Act, which would bar members of Congress from trading stocks, passed the House in July, and Sen. Todd Young has urged the Senate to act.
The Hegseth articles
Massie, who lost his own reelection bid, cited hostilities in Iran lasting more than 90 days without congressional authorization, according to the BBC and The Washington Post. His filing starts a 48-hour clock, after which the House can vote on the articles, refer them to committee or set them aside.
The effort is expected to fail while Republicans hold power until January, the BBC reported. The House currently has 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats. Massie has said his aim is to push President Donald Trump to replace Hegseth before Democrats take control. Even if the House impeached him, conviction in the Senate would require 67 votes.
Hegseth called the effort a "sham" and planned a news conference on Tuesday. Trump said of Hegseth: "He's done a very good job."
The House has impeached only two Cabinet members in the country's history, and the Senate convicted neither, according to the BBC.
For the budget, the nearer date is Dec. 11, when current funding runs out, a little more than a month before the new Congress takes over in January.