Republicans delivered some big legislative victories this month in Congress for President Donald Trump. But when it comes to funding the government, it’s a familiar story on Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers in the House headed home this week for summer break, having passed only two of the 12 government funding bills for 2026.
Unless there is a heroic effort to finish all of that spending work in September, Congress may again be asked to approve a temporary funding bill to keep the government running, with the threat of another shutdown.
“I’m not doing it,” a frustrated U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, told reporters, labeling a temporary funding plan “an absolute failure.”
“That is not what this majority should be about,” she said.
But that’s probably where things are heading — especially when you take a five-week break.
The lack of GOP action on government funding should have been the main issue on Capitol Hill this week, but it wasn’t. Instead, it was overshadowed by the fight among House Republicans over how to deal with the sex trafficking probe of Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019 in a New York jail.
GOP lawmakers were so worried about Democrats forcing votes related to Epstein that they scrapped most legislative business and sent members home early.
“Who are they protecting?” asked U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia. Democrats said the answer was Trump and ridiculed the GOP.
Republicans were in no mood to be lectured about the Epstein case, which most Democrats had ignored until the past few weeks.
“The American people deserve the truth, and the victims deserve to be protected, not used as a political stunt,” said U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton.
But GOP lawmakers were between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, their voters have demanded Epstein answers and documents for years. But now, Trump was calling it a hoax and criticizing his own supporters for asking questions.
Republicans were spooked. Unable to agree on a way forward, they decided not to offend MAGA or Trump by just avoiding any votes on Epstein and heading home until after Labor Day.
“We have an August district work period that is very important to the function of Congress,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson.
But while Johnson defended the annual extended summer break for lawmakers, maybe it’s time to consider being here for legislative business in August.
The last time Congress finished its spending work on time — by an Oct. 1 fiscal year deadline — was way back in 1996.
It’s unlikely to happen this year. So, maybe it might be time to try something different.
The House will be back on Sept. 2. Twelve government funding bills — and perhaps the Epstein files — will be waiting.
Jamie Dupree has covered national politics and Congress from Washington, D.C., since the Reagan administration. His column appears weekly in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more, check out his Capitol Hill newsletter at http://jamiedupree.substack.com
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