The Lame Duck Is Not a Vacation: What Republicans Should Do With Their Last Weeks in Power

The old Congress returns to work on Monday, November 9, and the temptation in both parties will be to treat the next eight weeks as an epilogue. That would be a mistake — for the country, and for conservatives who just lost both chambers and cannot afford to waste the power they still hold.

Start with the calendar, because the calendar is the argument. The stopgap measure funding the government expires on December 11. The new Congress — Democratic in both chambers — is seated on January 3. Between those dates, Republicans still chair the committees, still run the floor, and still hold a Senate majority that can confirm nominees. That is not a ceremonial majority. It is a working one, with an expiry date.

Three priorities, in order:

1. Confirmations first. Every qualified nominee who is ready for a floor vote should get one. Judges and officials confirmed now serve for years; nominees left in the queue in December will simply be replaced in January. This is the single most durable use of the remaining Senate majority.
2. A clean, honest funding bill. Passing a straightforward measure that funds the government into the new year — without a shutdown drama nobody wins and without loading it with last-minute spending — denies the incoming majority an easy first victory and denies everyone a December crisis. Fiscal discipline is easier to preach after practicing it on the way out.
3. Put the other side on record. Where Democrats intend to raise spending, restore open-ended programs, or investigate, the remaining weeks offer hearings and votes that clarify the choice for 2028. Losing an argument slowly, in public, with numbers, is worth more than avoiding it.

What not to do: do not chase revenge investigations with eight weeks and no runway, do not manufacture a funding cliff to “send a message,” and do not spend the session relitigating the election. Voters just delivered their verdict on governing by grievance.

The conservative take: Power held briefly is still power. Used well — judges seated, government funded, arguments made in the open — the lame duck becomes the first chapter of the comeback instead of the last chapter of the defeat. The clock starts Monday.