Congress is back in session for the next few weeks, with a goal of averting a government shutdown. The fiscal year ends on September 30th, and once again Congress failed to send any of the twelve annual appropriations bills to the President’s desk, meaning a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) is necessary to keep the lights on. The last time Congress completed all twelve spending bills on time was 1996. In addition to debating a bipartisan CR, the Senate is trying to fill as many agency and court appointments as possible before President Biden’s term ends. Included in that push is the nomination of Lauren McFerran for a third term as Chair of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), this move effectively locks in Democratic control of the NLRB through August 2026, regardless of who wins the election in November. This end of year partisanship is sadly normal but exacerbated by the high stakes election just weeks away, where control of White House, the Senate and the House are all polling within the margin-of-error.

While the media focuses on the election, policy is still being made by President Joe Biden who as a lame-duck now has no restraints on his regulatory agenda. This will be an incredibly busy final quarter for 2024.