Scalise outlines ‘important items’ on House agenda after government shutdown

FIRST ON FOX: Republican leaders in the House of Representatives are looking to kick into high gear next week to make up for six weeks spent out of session during the government shutdown.

With an end to Congress’ 42-day fiscal impasse in sight, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Digital that House lawmakers will face an accelerated timeline to achieve GOP priorities this term.

“I wanted to rework the schedule to have more time to catch up on what happened during the shutdown and the fact that there were a lot of bills that had accumulated that we had planned to submit in October that were not able to be presented,” he said in an interview Tuesday evening.

Priorities for next week include legislation to reduce federal restrictions on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a bill to expand refining capacity in an effort to reduce soaring energy costs.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., walks through National Statuary Hall on his way to his daily news conference on the government shutdown at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 4, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Measures targeting D.C. are also expected to come up for votes, including a bill that would require pretrial release and detention processes in D.C. to require mandatory pretrial detention for defendants accused of violent crimes.

Another bill expected to be voted on next week would roll back local ordinances that Republicans say impose heavy barriers on the Metropolitan Police Department.

A largely symbolic measure aimed at denouncing socialism in the United States is also on the agenda for next week.

Lawmakers will have to work late into the night, unlike their traditional day in Washington. Votes will be scheduled in the evening, when lawmakers have normally left Capitol Hill for other events.

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Scalise also noted that the House would have a five-day legislative week, Monday through Friday, rather than the more traditional four days in Washington.

More time will also be allocated during the day for House committees to conduct hearings and advance their legislation, something that has not been done on Capitol Hill since September 19.

“We’re going to do this over the next few weeks until we make up for the time we missed when everyone was back in their districts,” Scalise said.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, left, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Nov. 5, 2025. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

This last point is crucial given that Congress will have to reckon with several key priorities in the coming months.

The bill to end the government shutdown, expected to pass the House on Wednesday, pushes back the majority of federal spending from fiscal 2026 to Jan. 30. It would also authorize funding for three of Congress’ 12 annual spending bills for fiscal year 2026.

However, it will be an uphill battle for the Senate and House Appropriations committees to reach their remaining spending agreements between now and then.

“There are nine bills remaining, and we would like to finish all of them in the next few weeks. And so (House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla.) and his appropriators will be working overtime as well,” Scalise said.

Congress also has yet to find a bipartisan compromise on the federal government’s annual defense policy bill, called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“There are a lot of negotiations going on. I think we’re getting closer to the NDAA,” Scalise said.

Scalise said Republicans would also be busy working on a new Farm Bill, legislation that sets agricultural priorities as well as federal food policies for urban, suburban and rural areas across the country, as well as a highway bill – legislation that authorizes policy for surface infrastructure like roads, bridges and rail lines nationwide.

The U.S. Capitol seen at sunset on January 30, 2025. (Emma Woodhead/Fox News Digital)

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“A lot of these bills have been very active in the committee process. They just haven’t gotten a lot of attention nationally during the shutdown. But the committees have been working, especially the president, to try to get these bills ready to pass,” he said.

“So we’ll have a lot of big points that are important to our America First agenda ready to go. And that’s why we’re just going to add more ground time to be able to finish all of this by the end of this year.”

But to complete all of these “big-ticket projects,” the House will first need to pass the Senate’s bipartisan bill to end the government shutdown.

Asked if his chamber had the votes to do it, Scalise said, “I’m hopeful we’ll get it done.”

“I’m confident our members are really eager to get back to a full House schedule. Many of them have been working overtime in their districts to clean up the mess Democrats created during the shutdown,” he said.