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The United States Congress is the federal legislature, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and it must pass the laws that fund the government.
Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government. Federal agencies can spend money only under appropriations that both chambers pass and the president signs, which is why funding deadlines are set by law.
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No winner has been certified in the 2026 Alaska race for U.S. Senator: the Alaska Division of Elections lists the status of the November 3, 2026 general election results as unofficial.
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Louisiana's runoff election, which the state calls the general election, is on Saturday, December 12, 2026, and polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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No winner is official yet in Colorado's 4th Congressional District: unofficial state results show Democrat Eileen Laubacher at 186,218 votes and Republican Lauren Boebert at 182,856.
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FISA Section 702 has already expired: it was automatically repealed on June 12, 2026, along with the rest of Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
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No. Pete Hegseth has not been impeached. On November 10, 2026, the House voted to refer impeachment resolution H.Res. 1655 to the Judiciary Committee instead of voting on the resolution itself.
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The president's alternative pay plan sets the 2027 pay adjustment at zero for civilian federal employees under the General Schedule and certain other pay systems, with base and locality pay unchanged.
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Republicans control both chambers of the 119th Congress: they hold 53 of the 100 Senate seats and 218 House seats, against 214 for Democrats.
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No. The House passed the fiscal year 2027 NDAA, H.R. 8800, on July 22, 2026, but the official bill records show no Senate passage vote and no public law.
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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.
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During a government shutdown, an affected federal agency has to shut down any activities funded by annual appropriations that are not excepted by law.
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A continuing resolution is an appropriation act that lets federal agencies keep operating when the regular appropriation acts are not finished by the start of the fiscal year.
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The terms of the new Congress begin at noon on January 3, 2027, when the 20th Amendment ends the terms of sitting senators and representatives and begins the terms of their successors.
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Rep. Mike Johnson is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, according to the official leadership page of the House.
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John Thune, a Republican senator from South Dakota, is the Senate majority leader in the 119th Congress.
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Federal agencies are funded through December 11, 2026 under a stopgap law, so funding lapses after that date unless a new funding measure becomes law first.