Lame-Duck Congress Returns: What the Dec. 11 Shutdown and Flood Insurance Deadline, the Defense Bill and the Hegseth Impeachment Push Mean for Florida

Congress returned to Washington on Monday, Nov. 9, for a five-week lame-duck session that will decide whether the federal government stays open past Dec. 11, whether Florida's 1.8 million flood insurance policyholders face another lapse in the National Flood Insurance Program, and whether the House impeaches the Defense Secretary over a war run from Tampa. Republicans still control both chambers, but only until Democrats, who won the House and Senate on Nov. 3, take over in January.

The first two weeks of the session are set aside for legislation, followed by orientation for members-elect, who will be sworn in to the 120th Congress on Jan. 3, according to ABC News. Slim majorities and the possibility of absences among departing lawmakers could make it harder to pass anything, NPR reported.

The Dec. 11 deadline: shutdown and flood insurance

Government funding runs out on Dec. 11, when the stopgap measure Congress passed before the midterms expires. Any extension will likely be another short-term continuing resolution, NPR reported, and ABC News described lawmakers as far from a deal to avoid a shutdown.

For Florida, the same date carries a second deadline. The National Flood Insurance Program's authority runs only through 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 11, according to FEMA. If Congress lets it lapse, FEMA "would stop selling and renewing policies for millions of properties in communities across the nation," the agency says, though it would still be able to pay valid claims with available funds.

No state has more at stake. Florida has about 1.8 million NFIP policyholders, the most of any state, WGCU reported during the program's last lapse in the fall of 2025. During a lapse, home buyers in flood zones who need a new federal policy to close on a mortgage can be stuck, and existing policyholders whose renewals come due cannot renew. Florida's private flood insurance market has grown since the state's 2022 insurance reforms and can fill some of the gap, a former Florida deputy insurance commissioner told WGCU at the time.

The spending fight also runs through Florida's delegation. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart of Miami, the dean of the delegation, is vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee and chairs its subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs, according to his office. Díaz-Balart is himself waiting on a final call in his own race in the redrawn 26th District, where he leads Democrat Nicole Locklin by roughly 1,700 votes.

The defense bill and Florida's bases

The annual National Defense Authorization Act, which sets policy and pay for the military, must pass before the end of 2026 and has been stalled over the Iran war. The House passed its version, H.R. 8800, on July 22 by a vote of 216 to 212. In the Senate, Democrats blocked it on July 14 on a 50-46 party-line vote, short of the 60 needed to advance, with opponents tying their votes to the war and the budget topline, according to Breaking Defense and other reports. Leaders then pushed the bill to the lame duck.

The bill matters across Florida's large military footprint, from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, home of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, to Eglin Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Air Station Pensacola and Patrick Space Force Base. Disputes over Iran war funding could come to a head near the end-of-year deadline, ABC News reported.

CENTCOM, which is running the Iran campaign from Tampa, announced on Nov. 7 a new Tampa-based unit, Task Force Iron Gate, to disrupt Iran's supply routes over land and across the Caspian Sea, keeping the war in front of lawmakers as they return.

The Hegseth impeachment push

Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who lost his primary, is expected to bring up a privileged resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, possibly as early as Monday, setting up a midweek showdown, according to ABC News. The resolution contains eight articles of impeachment. The first three concern the 1973 War Powers Resolution and Hegseth's role in military operations involving Iran, according to Roll Call.

Impeaching a Cabinet officer takes a simple majority in the House, so the outcome depends largely on Republican defections and attendance. Removal would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate. President Donald Trump said last week he intends to keep Hegseth, while several Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, have blamed the Iran war for the party's midterm losses, ABC News reported. "This is not about me, but of course the other side, they're obsessed," Hegseth said in a video.

How Florida's House Republicans vote will be closely watched, since the war is directed from their state. No Florida member's position on the resolution had been reported as of Monday.

ICE money is already spent

Democrats ran hard on immigration enforcement, but the lame duck will not change ICE's funding. Congress gave immigration enforcement broad funding in 2025, and in 2026 about $240 billion went to ICE and Customs and Border Protection combined, enough to run mass deportations through the rest of Trump's term, NPR reported.

When Democrats take over in January, Rep. Robert Garcia of California is set to chair the House Oversight Committee and has promised ICE accountability reviews, and Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi is likely to chair Homeland Security, according to NPR. Those reviews would land heavily in Florida, where ICE made roughly 29,000 arrests this year through Aug. 6, second only to Texas, with more than half of those detained having no criminal charge or conviction, according to Deportation Data Project figures reported by WLRN. Florida law requires state agencies and county sheriff's offices to sign 287(g) agreements that deputize officers for immigration work.

Leadership races and other business

Lawmakers will also pick their leaders for the next Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson will not seek the post of Republican leader, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan are competing in a Tuesday vote, ABC News reported. House Democrats hold leadership elections on Nov. 18, when Hakeem Jeffries is expected to be nominated for speaker. Senate Republicans meet Tuesday morning, with no major changes expected.

The rest of the to-do list includes reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, passing an expired farm bill, confirming Trump's remaining nominees and a procedural vote on a bipartisan permitting overhaul.

Massie is also pushing a discharge petition on the Epstein Transparency Act II, a case with deep roots in Palm Beach. The petition has 216 signatures, two short of the 218 needed to force a floor vote, according to ABC News.

Florida's delegation in transition

The session is a farewell for some Floridians in Congress. Rep. Byron Donalds of Naples won the governor's race on Nov. 3 and will take office in January. Sen. Ashley Moody won her race to keep the Senate seat she was appointed to, and will serve through 2028. She and Sen. Rick Scott will be in the Senate minority once Democrats take control in January.

Two South Florida seats are still unresolved. Rep. María Elvira Salazar's 27th District race against Democrat Eliott Rodriguez went to a machine recount Monday, with Salazar ahead by about 1,090 votes, and Díaz-Balart's 26th District race remained uncalled by the Associated Press in the latest reports, though it falls outside the recount threshold.

What's next

The first test could come within days if Massie forces the Hegseth vote. The bigger deadline is Dec. 11, when both government funding and the flood insurance program expire unless Congress acts. Floridians buying or renewing coverage in flood zones should watch that date closely, since a lapse would freeze new NFIP policies until lawmakers restore the program.