GOP walks into a lame duck where Democrats have little reason to help

Republicans are back at work this week with their grip on Congress already ticking away. The midterm election handed Democrats the next majorities and started a countdown clock on GOP power, according to Axios. That leaves a lame-duck session in which Democrats have little reason to help Republicans move an agenda before January.

The must-do list hasn't shrunk. Nadeam Elshami, former chief of staff to Nancy Pelosi, told Axios that appropriations and the NDAA bill are what has to get done. Trump still holds the veto pen, but that doesn't clear the legislative pileup waiting on the floor.

Rep. Thomas Massie is piling on another headache. Voters in his own party threw him out in favor of a more Trump-aligned Republican, and he's now pushing yet another Epstein-related vote — an unwelcome spot for the White House and GOP leadership.

Showing up is its own problem. Dozens of House lawmakers and at least 17 senators are leaving Congress, raising questions about attendance, cooperation and how hard departing members want to work — what Axios calls a professional case of congressional senioritis.

The thing to watch: whether Congress finishes its major legislative priorities or punts those fights to the incoming Democratic majorities. Also looming, per Axios, is a House poised to impeach Pete Hegseth after the GOP's midterm defeat.