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Both the House and Senate return to session Tuesday after a lengthy summer recess — with a hectic fall and a looming deadline to fund the government on the horizon.
Front and center is an Oct. 1 deadline to fund the government. Democratic votes are essential to break a filibuster on any spending plan in the Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) faces criticism from the left after he caved and helped avoid a shutdown in March — receiving nothing in return.
Democrats seem unwilling to make a deal at all, as President Donald Trump tries to unilaterally cancel spending already allocated.
REPUBLICAN SEN. JONI ERNST OF IOWA WON'T SEEK RE-ELECTION: SOURCES
Looming over all of this is the specter of the Epst