House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) believes it is possible lawmakers could pass a continuing resolution (CR) this week.
“We will not leave town until we get all of our work done,” McCarthy told reporters Monday at the Capitol.
McCarthy said the CR was being wrapped up and would be posted within the next day. The current CR ends Friday. The last day for congressional work in 2016 is Dec. 16. 
Congressional Republicans are pursuing the CR as they will control the White House, as well as both chambers of Congress, once President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20. This will allow Republicans to more easily pursue priorities as opposed to trying while President Barack Obama is still in office.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter chastised lawmakers last week for pursuing the CR as opposed to a full-year appropriations bill, as it prevents the Pentagon from starting new weapons systems and ramping up programs (Defense Daily, Nov. 29). Carter, in his letter, said the new CR being pursued would last through May. A spokesman for McCarthy did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
McCarthy, acknowledging that a CR isn’t the best vehicle for defense spending, said he hopes Congress would pass a Pentagon appropriations bill “early” in the next Congress. With Trump taking over soon, McCarthy said he hoped future appropriations legislation would have smoother negotiations than under Obama, who McCarthy said made things difficult with his veto threats. He also said different spending priorities under Trump could lead to more defense spending, but he did not elaborate.
Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned before Thanksgiving that achieving increased defense spending wouldn’t be as easy as Trump hopes and that Republicans would have to make deals with both Republican budget hawks and Democrats who want increased domestic spending to come with any defense budget boosts.
In other congressional news, House Armed Services Committee (HASC) member Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said he would oppose a waiver being granted to allow Trump nominee retired Marine Gen. James Mattis to serve as defense secretary before his seven year window of being out of the service is over. Gallego said he believes in the principle of civilian leadership of the military and does not believe this long-standing check should be cast aside.