The House returns to session Monday two weeks after a hasty retreat from Washington. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent his members home early ahead of the Fourth of July weekend when a revolt from his caucus’ right flank left the chamber paralyzed. Time hasn’t changed the situation since then — and time is what Johnson lacks now.

Lawmakers are in town for eight working days before their annual August recess. When they return in early September, it will likely be too late for anything ambitious to make its way through the legislative process. Most of Congress’ focus will be on simply keeping the lights on, not cramming a grab bag of conservative priorities into yet another GOP-only spending bill. But that is exactly what Johnson keeps insisting is in the works, even as every sign and portent says otherwise.

Chances aren’t looking good for either of the two broad clusters of action items on the House GOP’s agenda.

The first group includes the annual spending bills, which fund the federal government, and the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets policy for the Pentagon and instructions for its many projects. Before the most recent break, Johnson hoped to at least move forward on the NDAA and an initial package of appropriation bills for fiscal 2027, which begins Oct. 1.

Those plans were derailed by a group of hard-line Republicans who voted down the procedural rule that would move those bills to the floor. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said she would refuse to vote for any procedural rule until the Senate passes the vote-suppressing SAVE America Act or it gets added into the NDAA. Luna’s blockade was joined by a cadre of conservatives angry that Johnson didn’t hold a vote on an immigration bill they say he promised he would hold before the July 4 recess.

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Failure to get the ball rolling, especially on the spending bills, will come back to haunt Republicans later. All the bills will eventually require at least some Democratic support in the Senate to overcome the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold. Without progress over the next two weeks, the odds skyrocket of a funding lapse looming over Congress in September. A continuing resolution to prevent a shutdown should be a cakewalk ahead of the midterms — but with this GOP majority, never say never.

The second bucket of GOP priorities includes everything else Johnson would like to see passed before the midterms. At the top of that list is the partisan budget bill he’s been pushing, aka “Reconciliation 3.0.” The bill would, in theory, wrap up several GOP priorities that would crash into a Democratic-led filibuster in the Senate. Those priorities include $70 billion to $80 billion in extra funding for the Pentagon to cover its expenses from the Iran war. Johnson has pledged to add on a version of the SAVE America Act as well, though a less sweeping iteration than the legislation Trump has endorsed.

Hayes Brown

Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for MS NOW. He focuses on policymaking at the federal level, including Congress and the White House.