GOP lawmakers returning to Washington face an array of controversies triggered by President Trump and his senior Cabinet officials, political headaches that Republican senators and House members have largely managed to avoid dealing with during the long August recess.

The biggest challenge will be to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month, a worst-case scenario that’s growing more likely after Trump on Thursday signaled his plan to rescind nearly $5 billion in congressionally appropriated funding through a “pocket rescission” package, which Democrats have loudly condemned.

But Republican lawmakers face other thorny issues, such as Trump’s and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to fire Susan Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Co

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