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Congress returned from a weeklong recess for Thanksgiving. And days are slipping away from the calendar as lawmakers struggle to put together a plan to address health care problems or cover the cost of rising insurance premiums.
Deadline: end of calendar year. But Fox is told insurance companies simply need to take action by Jan. 15.
However, this does not give Congress much time to act. And, depending on the indicator, the House of Representatives is scheduled to meet for just nine days before the end of 2025.
Senate It's not so clear, but informally the Senate will only meet for nine more days.
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House scheduled to take place Tuesday through Friday. Then from December 15 to 19.
The Senate meets on Monday. But it is unclear whether the Senate will convene on Friday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) speaks during a health care news conference with fellow House Democrats on the East Steps of the U.S. Capitol on Day 15 of the government shutdown in Washington, Oct. 15, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Senate also meets from December 15 to 18. But anything beyond that is a bit sketchy.
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However, this is where things get interesting.
The House of Representatives was not originally scheduled to meet on December 19th. But this date was added to the schedule several weeks ago.
Some are interpreting this added date as a “code” for the possibility that the House of Representatives may have to be in town the weekend of December 20-21, and possibly beyond. There is a possibility that the House of Representatives may add days to the calendar for this period, since Christmas does not arrive until this Thursday.
So, in theory, the House of Representatives has a few extra days to resolve issues until December 25th. It would be a different matter if Christmas itself fell on, say, Monday or Tuesday.
So let me explain the meaning of this.
Building a coalition to support such a package—without bipartisan support and the full support of President Donald Trump—would likely derail any health care package. (Alex Brandon/AP)
House Republicans are seeking release medical aid I plan to in the coming days. But building a coalition to support such a package is without bipartisan support and the full support of the president. Donald Trump — is likely to block any health care package.
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Keep in mind that Republicans have been talking about an alternative plan to Obamacare since 2009 but have never passed anything. So it's really hard to believe that they can deliver anything in the next 26 days.
The Senate is expected to vote on the competing health care plans late next week. The GOP proposal is still unclear.
Senate Democrats just released three year extension electric current Obamacare Subsidies. Any bill requires 60 years. So expect the Democrats' plan to fall apart immediately.
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Frankly, it's likely that the failure of both plans in the Senate will give everyone serious pause. Often in the Senate, things have to fail first before the parties get serious about compromise and start hustling.
This brings us back to the calendar.
So, given the deadline for skyrocketing health insurance premiums, it's entirely possible that Congress will rush before and/or during the holidays to pass some sort of legislation. healthcare fix until the end of 2025.
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That's why this weekend and the days between December 20 and 23, which are not on the Congressional calendar, could be prime targets for Congress to try to pass something.
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Not to mention, Congress will come back after Christmas and try to approve something before or around the New Year.
Technically, both bodies are scheduled to return to meetings on January 5.
And don't forget that the Senate passed its version original Obamacare plan just after dawn on Christmas Eve 2009.
Debates over rising health care costs, most notably Obamacare, have divided Republicans as they debate whether to reform or replace the system. (Leah Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images; Stephanie Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Also hidden in the background: spending bills to finance the government.
Government funding expires at 11:59:59 PM ET on January 30th. Nine out of 12 annual spending bills for fiscal year 2026 remain unfinished. The House expects to consider several bills before the end of the year.
But if Congress fails to pass anything on health care by the end of January, the likelihood another government shutdown increases exponentially.
So, I wish you “tidings of comfort and joy.”
