Congress returns for final sprint on expiring Obamacare subsidies, funding

Congress will return to Washington, DC, next week, entering a fast race to complete its work before the end of the year, to crown a busy, and often dramatic, year in Congress.

Both chambers will have three weeks of work before they once again escape from the growing cold in Washington to their districts and states. Lawmakers have some of the year’s biggest challenges ahead of them until the end.

Perhaps the biggest legislative battle looming is how lawmakers handle expirations Boosting Obamacare subsidieswhich dominated the recently ended government shutdown.

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Congress will have three weeks before the end of the year to pass a massive legislative agenda, with fierce battles over Obamacare subsidies and the hope of passage of a tranche of spending bills, among other issues, awaiting them. (AP; Getty; Fox News Digital)

Neither side has offered a full plan on how to address subsidies, although some solutions have been floated by Republicans, such as shifting subsidy funding to health savings accounts.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune admitted last week that reaching a solution would be a major hurdle, and confirmed his commitment to Senate Democrats that they would get a vote on any proposal they put forward no later than the second week of December.

Thune noted that “the only thing that unites” the Republican Party is the belief that subsidies need to be reformed and that rising health care costs need to be addressed.

“I think the affordability issue is a big one,” Thune said. “I think it’s exacerbated by the way Obamacare has been structured over the years, including the way the enhanced subsidy has been structured by going directly to insurance companies and incentivizing them to enroll people without their knowledge.”

The White House also has its own plan, which was expected to be rolled out earlier this week, but was sidelined by disgruntled Republicans who didn’t like the proposed language.

When asked about the details of the plan and its cancellation, a White House official told Fox News Digital that “there was no health care announcement included at all.” [Monday’s] Daily guidance.”

But complaining about a plan from the president Donald Trump The administration has encouraged some Democrats in the Senate.

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President Donald Trump speaks before pardoning the National Thanksgiving Türkiye during a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, November 25, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who originally proposed legislation to extend the benefits, said she’s glad the president is making an effort to ensure the credits don’t expire at the end of the year.

“I have had constructive conversations with many of my Republican colleagues who I believe want to get this done,” Shaheen said in a statement. “They recognize that the vast majority of people who benefit from these tax breaks live in states that the president won, and that the president’s own polls have highlighted the enormous political necessity for Republican action.”

But Obamacare is not the only issue Congress faces. Lawmakers look forward to approving the annual law National Defense Authorization Act By the end of the year, the Senate is considering another package of Trump nominees, and another package of spending bills is expected to be on the horizon as well.

This package of four bills, which is expected to include defense, labor, transportation and trade funding bills, would be a huge step toward avoiding another government funding deadline of January 30, 2026.

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said earlier this month that there was also “interest on the part of the House” in moving the bills forward.

She said: “The more appropriations bills we are able to pass, the better off we will be, and the better the services provided to the American people will be.”

GOP grapples with Obamacare reform as Trump looms over subsidy battle

Sen. John Kennedy, R-Los Angeles, pauses while speaking to members of the media in the basement of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, May 21, 2019. (Andrew Harrier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

There are also some outstanding issues that could pose surprises before the end of the year, including how Congress responds Russia sanctions And a controversial provision in the package that reopened the government that would allow senators to sue for upwards of $500,000 if their records are requested without notice.

On the sanctions front, the Senate has overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation that Trump appears to support, but there is a potential disconnect between Thune and the House Speaker. Mike JohnsonR-Los Angeles, on where the legislation should originate.

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Thune believes it would be more appropriate in the House since it is a revenue-oriented bill, while Johnson warned that passing the bill in the House would take a long time due to the number of different committees it would have to move through.

Some in the Senate are already looking forward to next year, when lawmakers will be in full midterm election mode. Another crack in Budget reconciliationThe process used to pass Trump’s big, beautiful bill has been laid out, but whether there is widespread support from Republicans in Congress remains unclear.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-Los Angeles, said it would be “legislative malpractice” not to go through the cumbersome process again.

“He’s just wonderfully stupid,” Kennedy said. “Why not take an opportunity to pass something with 51 votes? That doesn’t mean our Democratic colleagues can’t join us, but if they don’t, they can’t filibuster. Did I mention this is extremely stupid?”