As lawmakers return to Washington after a monthlong August recess, Congress faces a turbulent fall marked by a looming government shutdown, fierce partisan battles, and growing turmoil at the nation’s leading public health agency. The coming weeks are set to test the ability of both parties to navigate a crowded agenda, with high stakes for Americans’ health, security, and trust in government.
The most immediate threat is the potential for a government shutdown on September 30, 2025, when federal funding is set to expire. According to reporting from the Associated Press, Republicans and Democrats remain deeply divided over how to keep the government open. After passing President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending cuts earlier this summer without a single Democratic vote, Republicans now face the reality that they’ll need Democratic support to pass a stopgap measure to keep agencies running. Democrats, in turn, are demanding significant concessions, and the Trump administration’s efforts to claw back billions in previously approved foreign aid and public broadcasting funds have only complicated negotiations.
“Trump is rooting for a shutdown,” Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut posted on social media, reflecting the tense atmosphere as both sides dig in. The annual spending battle is expected to dominate the September agenda, with the possibility of only a short-term extension while lawmakers hammer out a full-year package.
Meanwhile, the Senate is bracing for renewed clashes over nominations. Frustrated Republican leaders left Washington in early August after making little headway with Democrats, whose blockade has delayed confirmation of many Trump administration nominees. The breakdown in negotiations led President Trump to lash out on social media, telling Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to “GO TO HELL!” Now, Republicans are considering changing Senate rules to sidestep Democratic stalling tactics—a move likely to further inflame partisan tensions.
Foreign policy is also high on the agenda, with Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina pushing for a bipartisan sanctions bill that would impose steep tariffs on countries supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine by buying its oil, gas, uranium, and other exports. The legislation has the backing of 85 senators, but as the Associated Press notes, President Trump has yet to endorse it. Graham has increased pressure after Trump’s recent meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy failed to produce a breakthrough. "If we don’t have this thing moving in the right direction by the time we get back, then I think that plan B needs to kick in," Graham said.
Amid these legislative battles, a crisis is unfolding at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drawing national attention and congressional scrutiny. On August 27, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, resigned in protest after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) removed CDC Director Susan Monarez. The move came under the leadership of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose tenure has been marked by controversy and accusations of politicizing public health.
In a resignation letter, Daskalakis denounced Kennedy’s leadership, warning that political ideology was overriding scientific decision-making at the CDC. “From my vantage point as a doctor who’s taken the Hippocratic Oath, I only see harm coming. I may be wrong, but based on what I’m seeing, based on what I’ve heard with the new members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, or ACIP, they’re really moving in an ideological direction where they want to see the undoing of vaccination,” Daskalakis told ABC News’ "This Week."
His concerns were echoed by Dr. Richard Besser, former acting CDC Director and now president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Besser told ABC News that the leadership shakeup at the CDC could have profound consequences for the country’s ability to respond to public health threats. “The CDC is an absolutely critical piece of the protection for Americans from any public health threat. Now, with the director being removed, senior leadership leaving, I have great fears for what will happen to this country the next time we face a public health emergency, whether it’s a massive earthquake, a new infectious agent or, unfortunately, the next pandemic,” Besser said.
The controversy extends to changes in COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for fall 2025. The new guidance, approved under Kennedy, limits the latest vaccine dosage to people aged 65 and older and those with high-risk underlying health conditions. This has caused confusion and uncertainty for others seeking vaccination. Daskalakis criticized the move, warning that the breakdown of the firewall between science and ideology could undermine public trust and public health outcomes.
“I didn’t think that we were going to be able to present science in a way free of ideology, that the firewall between science and ideology has completely broken down. And not having a scientific leader at CDC meant that we wouldn’t be able to have the necessary diplomacy and connection with HHS to be able to really execute on good public health,” Daskalakis said, explaining his decision to resign.
Concerns about Kennedy’s leadership are not limited to former CDC officials. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, the Republican chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has called for the CDC to delay meetings of its outside vaccine advisory committee until Congress can conduct a thorough review. Cassidy’s position reflects bipartisan anxiety about the agency’s direction and the integrity of its vaccine recommendations.
Besser, for his part, warned that Kennedy’s opposition to vaccine mandates could put vulnerable children at risk. “When I think about mandates, I think about children going to school. I think about young parents who are sending their children to school and want to know that their children are safe, and the way children are safe from vaccine-preventable diseases is by getting vaccinated themselves. But no vaccine is 100%. And so you count on the other children in that classroom being vaccinated. I think with this secretary, we are on a path to it being largely parental choice, and that is going to put at risk those people for whom the vaccine didn’t work and children who may have medical conditions where they can’t get vaccinated. That is a major step backwards for public health,” Besser said.
Congress is also grappling with a host of other contentious issues. House Republicans remain divided over whether to force the Trump administration to release more information on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, with bipartisan calls for greater transparency. The House Oversight Committee is continuing its investigation into former President Joe Biden’s mental state during his presidency, with more interviews scheduled for September. Meanwhile, momentum is building for legislation to ban stock trading by members of Congress and future presidents and vice presidents—though, notably, the current proposal exempts Trump.
With so many high-stakes issues in play, the coming weeks promise to be anything but routine in Washington. The fate of government funding, the future of public health policy, and the integrity of America’s democratic institutions all hang in the balance as lawmakers return to the Capitol.
As the fall session gets underway, the decisions made in the halls of Congress and within federal agencies will reverberate far beyond Washington, shaping the nation’s response to health crises, international conflicts, and the fundamental question of who Americans trust to lead them in uncertain times.
