FY 2025 Hangs in the Balance as Congress Begins Preparations for the 119th Session

As the year nears its end, Congress is looking to pass either the fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills by December 20 or a continuing resolution (CR) that extends the deadline to March. As previously reported by COSSA, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has indicated interest in the latter despite contention from Democrats and some Republicans advocating to complete the FY 2025 appropriations process so the new Congress can focus its attention on the FY 2026 appropriations process.

The 119th Congress, which will be sworn in on January 3, will look quite a bit different from the outgoing Congress. The House will remain with a Republican majority but the Senate will shift from Democratic to Republican-control. This could very well impact the final FY 2025 appropriations bills if a CR pushes the deadline to March.

While many uncertainties remain, here’s what we already know about the 119th Congress.

In the House, both caucuses have already held elections for leadership positions with the Republicans unanimously reelecting Mike Johnson (R-LA) as House Speaker and Democrats reconfirming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Republicans have elected John Thune (R-SD) as Senate Majority Leader, replacing Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who is stepping down from the position. Senate Democrats have yet to elect their Minority Leader, however, Charles Schumer (D-NY) currently serves as Majority Leader and would be the likely candidate.

Frank Lucas (R-OK) is departing from his position as Chair of the House Science, Space, and Technology (SST) Committee, leaving a vacancy (see related article). While it’s expected that Rep. Lucas will stay on as a committee member, rumors suggest that Brian Babin (R-TX) is a likely successor. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) is expected to remain the Ranking Member of the committee.

The House Appropriations Committee is not expected to see major changes with Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) expected to remain in their roles. Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) are also expected to keep in their respective roles on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) Subcommittee. Hal Rogers (R-KY) is expected to keep his chairmanship of the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Subcommittee, but the loss of Ranking Member Matt Cartwright (D-PA) leaves a vacancy on the Democratic side that is likely to pass to Grace Meng (D-NY).

In the Senate, there is unlikely to be any leadership changes in the Senate Appropriations Committee beyond the flip to a Republican majority. Jerry Moran (R-KS) is expected to chair the CJS Subcommittee and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) will move to Ranking Member. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) will move to Chair of the LHHS Subcommittee and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to Ranking Member. For the full Senate Appropriations Committee, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Patty Murray (D-WA) will swap positions to Chair and Ranking Member, respectively.

Official committee assignments are often made in the months following the beginning of the new session. Join COSSA on December 5 at 2:00pm EST for our Post-Election Headlines webinar to discuss the election results and their effect on the social and behavioral science research community.