A lame duck session is when Congress is in session after a November election and before the beginning of the new Congress, according to the U.S. Senate. Some of the lawmakers who take part will not be returning for the next Congress, which is where the name comes from.
Why it is called a lame duck session
The Senate glossary defines a lame duck session as the time following the November general elections in an even-numbered year. It gives the reason for the name in one sentence: "So called because some of the lawmakers who take part will not be returning for the next Congress."
How the 20th Amendment shortened it
The 20th Amendment ends the terms of senators and representatives at noon on January 3 and begins the terms of their successors at the same moment. The National Archives transcript says Congress passed the amendment on March 2, 1932, and that it was ratified on January 23, 1933.
The Senate's history of lame duck sessions says the amendment changed the convening date for a new Congress to January 3 of odd-numbered years. Before that, new Congresses convened in December of odd-numbered years, and the Senate says the change shortened the time between an election and the beginning of the next Congress to two months. The date the next terms begin is covered in When does the new Congress start?.
What Congress does in a lame duck session
The Senate says that since 1933 Congress has met in lame duck session to conclude urgent or unfinished business. Its table names the major topics of each one. The three most recent on the table are below.
| Congress | Senate dates | Major topics |
|---|---|---|
| 118th | November 12, 2024, to January 3, 2025 | Nominations, defense authorization, appropriations |
| 117th | November 14, 2022, to January 3, 2023 | Nominations, Respect for Marriage Act, railroad labor agreement, defense authorization, appropriations |
| 116th | November 9, 2020, to January 3, 2021 | Nominations, defense authorization, coronavirus stimulus, appropriations |
The House dates for those three sessions are the same as the Senate dates. The Senate notes that the date ranges include all pro forma sessions held during the lame duck sessions. Its glossary defines a pro forma session as a brief meeting of the Senate or House, often only a few minutes long, during which business is not usually conducted.
How often lame duck sessions happen
The Senate's table lists 25 Congresses with a lame duck session. The earliest is the 76th Congress, when the Senate met from November 7, 1940, to January 3, 1941, and the major topic was the threat of war in Europe. The latest on the table is the 118th Congress.
The two chambers have not always both met. In the 83rd Congress the Senate met from November 8 to December 2, 1954, and the House did not meet. In the 105th Congress the House met from December 17 to 19, 1998, and the Senate did not meet.
The membership of the current Congress is covered in Which party controls Congress?, and the December 11, 2026 funding date is covered in Will the government shut down on December 11?.