(CNN) — Congress is bracing for a politically bruising fall as lawmakers return to Washington on Tuesday, with massive fights upcoming on government funding, the Jeffrey Epstein files and President Donald Trump’s policing push.

After a summer of simmering tensions on Trump’s nationwide deportations, National Guard deployment in Washington, DC, and a string of high-profile firings , Democrats are ready to fight back.

And the minority party won’t have to wait long for its opportunity to spar with Trump. Republicans and Democrats are already entering a high-stakes funding standoff ahead of a September 30 funding deadline, which marks Congress’ first bout of bipartisan dealmaking in months. Already, Democrats are signaling they want new checks on Trump’s power and a rollback of the pres

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