Much of that work needs to happen in the next two or so weeks before lawmakers adjourn this congressional session and return in January with a completely new makeup and set of priorities (Especially the House. See: investigations).

Additionally, this week there is a contentious Democratic leadership nomination, a presidential trip to Argentina for the Group of 20 summit and a Senate runoff election in Mississippi.

AD

AD

During the holidays, it can be challenging to keep up with the rapid news cycle (even more so than it normally is), so here is a reader’s guide to the biggest stories and the most pressing issues on the docket as Washington closes out 2018.

1. Government funding

Before the midterm election, Congress wrapped the seven funding bills it didn’t finish into a package set to expire Dec. 7. If an agreement isn’t reached by then, the government could face a partial shutdown affecting departments such as Homeland Security, Justice, State and Commerce. President Trump has floated the idea of a shutdown if Congress doesn’t include $5 billion for fiscal 2019 for the border wall with Mexico he has been promising since the early days of his candidacy.

AD

Earlier this month, while touring the wildfires in California, Trump told reporters that the caravan of migrants at the southern border made it a “good time” for a shutdown over border security.

AD

“If I was ever going to do a shutdown over border security — when you look at the caravan, when you look at the mess, when you look at the people coming in,” the president said. “. . . This would be a very good time to do a shutdown.”

But the appetite for a shutdown is small among members of Congress, and it’s unlikely that either side wants to disrupt federal programs or make government employees take unpaid furloughs during the holidays. What’s more likely is another continuing resolution to keep the agencies' funding limping along at the same rate through the new year.

2. House Speaker election

The new Democratic caucus will vote Wednesday on whom they should put up for speaker of the House next year. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is running again and has solid support from old and new members alike, but there is a contingent of Democrats working against her. Most of that is coming from her right flank, including a group of moderate Democrats who want commitment for some rules changes that would make it easier to pass bipartisan legislation, and another group who says the Democrats need new leadership.

This is considered a test vote to suss out support for Pelosi. The real vote comes in January on the floor, when Republicans get a chance to vote, too. If enough Democrats voted against her on the floor, she could struggle to garner enough votes to secure the job. However, as of now, no one has emerged to run against her, and her most high-profile critic has started to sound doubtful that he’ll be able to block her. Despite the drama surrounding the leadership election, it’s looking more and more likely that it will go to Pelosi.

3. Mississippi Senate election

Trump arrives in the state that he won by double digits in 2016 to shore up support at two rallies for incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) in a runoff election against former congressman Mike Espy (D). The state is very red, but Democrats are hoping for a similar scenario to the one that played out in neighboring Alabama in 2017, when voters picked a Democrat in a special election over an extremely flawed Republican candidate. Republicans are concerned enough about that happening to send in Trump the night before Mississippi voters go to the polls Tuesday.

Hyde-Smith got herself in trouble this month when she said she’d sit in the front row of a “public hanging,” which caused several companies, including Walmart, to ask for campaign donation refunds. Hyde-Smith is counting on support for Trump to carry her to victory, while Espy is hoping that, in a state that is one-third African American (he is African American), voters will reject the racist undertones of her recent comments.

4. Trump and foreign policy

Trump will join 19 other international leaders in South America this week, with many contentious foreign policy issues at play. On the economic front, there is an ongoing trade war with China that Trump plans to discuss on the side with President Xi Jinping while there.

AD

AD

Adding to the drama of the event will be the presence of both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump is supposed to meet with Putin while there and has also said he is open to meeting with Mohammed. The latter is especially sensitive, given reports of Salman’s involvement in the slaying of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Members of Congress have called for increased sanctions on Saudi Arabia over the killing, but Trump has maintained his support for Mohammed, citing the important economic and security interests of keeping the country as an ally.

5. Criminal justice reform

Congress hoped to do something on this issue in the lame-duck session, as it’s one of the rare issues with bipartisan agreement across the ideological spectrum and the support of the White House. Trump, who campaigned as the “law and order” candidate, has endorsed the First Step Act, legislation that would loosen some mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

AD

AD

The bill has significant support but still faces pushback from some conservatives such as Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who is working behind the scenes to get people to vote against it. Cotton even penned an op-ed in USA Today this month arguing that the bill would hurt rather than help. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had promised a vote on the issue but has recently been noncommittal, given the sharp opposition by some members of the GOP caucus.

6. Disaster relief

California lawmakers are expected to ask for $720 million in disaster aid to help response to the wildfires that ravaged their state this month. That request comes as the government has poured billions into relief for areas devastated by hurricanes this year. That debate comes amid a report released by the White House on Black Friday confirming that climate change is real and already wreaking havoc on the United States.

AD

AD

But today, Trump said of his administration’s report, which warned of the crippling economic cost of climate change: “I don’t believe it.”

7. Obamacare lawsuit

A Texas judge could rule any day on a lawsuit brought by 20 red states to deem the 2010 Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. The lawsuit alleges that because Congress got rid of the individual mandate penalty requiring every person to have health insurance, then the whole bill, including consumer protections such as coverage for people with preexisting health conditions, should be considered invalid.

The lawsuit was a major issue in the midterm campaign as well as the confirmation of Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The Trump administration is not defending the law in court, something the Democrats hammered on as evidence that Republicans would let health protections for Americans lapse. The lawsuit could make its way to the Supreme Court, as Democrats warned during the fight over Kavanaugh — the newest member of the bench could be the deciding vote in killing the law.

8. GOP subpoenas of Comey, Lynch

Before they cede power to the Democrats, House Republicans last week served up subpoenas to former FBI director James B. Comey and former Obama administration attorney general Loretta E. Lynch, asking them to appear for closed-door hearings next week. The House GOP has used much of its investigative powers to determine whether the FBI and Justice Department had internal bias against Trump that led to increased scrutiny of him as part of the Russia probe.

AD

AD

Comey has said he would challenge his subpoena and that he’d testify but only “in the light.”

In January, the House Republicans will lose their subpoena power, and the Democrats will be able to ask any number of Trump associates and aides to testify in what could be dozens of investigations into the Trump White House, campaign and personal finances.

9. Other expiring legislation