In the wake of last week’s midterm elections, congressional Republicans are looking at the few weeks their majority is still seated, and we can hope they are making some serious plans to wring the most they can out of the lame duck session. On January 3, at noon, the Democrat-controlled 120th Congress will be seated, so the clock is a-ticking.
But they still have some time. The House Freedom Caucus has some ideas on how to make best use of that time, and they are letting the House leadership know about it, with a roadmap submitted on Monday. It’s an interesting read.
🚨BREAKING: House Freedom Caucus leadership just dropped a lame-duck roadmap for @SpeakerJohnson and @LeaderJohnThune. Strip Democrat leverage. Deliver real wins. Do it before the clock runs out. No leaving town until it’s done — let’s finish the job!
— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) November 9, 2026
The post states:
BREAKING: House Freedom Caucus leadership just dropped a lame-duck roadmap for @SpeakerJohnson and @LeaderJohnThune.
Strip Democrat leverage. Deliver real wins. Do it before the clock runs out.
No leaving town until it’s done — let’s finish the job!
That sounds good up front. Here are some key items from their proposal. First, funding priorities; this is a significant issue.
Pass a reconciliation package to deal with debt, spending, and tax relief:
- Fund Defense Modernization (missiles, boats, drones, space, etc.) to stop Democrats from using it to leverage for expansion of the welfare state;
- Provide significant tax relief for families – particularly for healthcare: Expansion of HSA’s in terms of both savings amount and use to drive down the cost of healthcare for families, and codification of Short-Term Limited Duration Plans;
- Provide at least $1 trillion in spending reductions that will more than pay for all these items and result in deficit reduction.
And, much as we hate to admit it, this one seems to be the least likely to happen, with one exception; more on that in a moment.
The issue with this broad broom, of course, is that it’s lean on specifics. A trillion in spending reductions would be fantastic, but would also be far-reaching enough that even a Republican-controlled Congress is going to have trouble staying on one page. That’s not right, but that’s how things are. Proposing to gore everyone’s ox generally means that nobody’s ox gets gored.
Here’s a big one:
Codify the President’s border security policies and ban sanctuary cities – we passed H.R. 9773 and H.R. 7640 out of Judiciary, and they are ready for action on the House floor.
Illegal immigration is still an area where the Republican Party has a big advantage with the American people. Codifying and funding these operations seems a no-brainer — but then, it didn’t happen in the two years prior.
This, though — these are the big ones.
Pass legislation requiring voter ID in federal elections.
Confirm as many Presidential nominees as possible in the Senate.
The SAVE America Act, which requires voter ID and proof of citizenship to register, has been languishing in the Senate. There may be an opportunity to get this passed, if Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is willing to hold a vote on dumping the filibuster. Honestly, at this point, he may as well, because the Democrat-controlled Senate in the incoming 120th Congress is more than likely to do this on Day One. It may still be an uphill climb, given the records of some of the Republican Senators who have been primaried and are facing an involuntary retirement now, but it’s worth a try.
The last item, though, may be the most important of all. Judicial nominees in particular should be fast-tracked. Fill every appointment possible, because a Democrat-controlled Senate won’t approve any Trump nominee under any circumstances. That’s just how things are going to be.
The 119th Congress will be back at work on Monday. Let’s see what they manage to get done.
Editor’s Note: The Democrat Party has been infected by socialism, and it’s spreading FAST. Democrats are claiming there’s nothing to worry about, but we know the truth.
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