House returns with vote expected on Senate bill to prevent shutdown

The House convenes on Monday following a five-week break, with approval of a short-term funding bill aimed at averting a government shutdown as the deadline approaches on September 30. Lawmakers anticipate a brief respite before Labor Day for deliberations. The House had previously endorsed a GOP-backed bill to defer funding until November's midterm elections, but the Senate opted for a bipartisan approach, extending funding until December 11.

This Senate version incorporates a measure to seal a loophole that Democrats argued enabled the Trump administration to shift funds to Border Patrol, and another provision to temporarily bar political appointees from cancelling federal grants. These adjustments might sway Democratic votes in the House in favor of the funding extension, as only six Democrats defected in July when the measure fell short of eliminating funding for Border Patrol.

The House's return to Capitol Hill is the inaugural instance since the House Ethics Committee initiated investigations into Rep. Max Miller of Ohio for domestic violence and drug use allegations, and Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California for alleged sexual misconduct. Both deniers of the accusations. The Ethics Committee also proposed censuring GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina for persistent unprofessional and inappropriate behavior towards two young female staffers, though his campaign declared the committee's findings exonerated him under House rules, leading Edwards to abandon his reelection effort.

A censure resolution targeting Edwards may be voted on in the House this week. Republicans are also set to vote on a resolution denouncing socialism in all its forms, coinciding with the surge in support for democratic socialist candidates in the Democratic primaries. House Speaker Mike Johnson cautioned last week in Texas that socialism is a path to communism.

The House will also deliberate a resolution affirming support for President Trump's voting regulations legislation, the SAVE America Act, currently stalled in the Senate. With the addition of two new Democratic representatives to fill vacancies from Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and Rep. David Scott of Georgia, Democrats will hold 214 seats, while Republicans will have 219, reducing the GOP's lead to a mere two votes.