Judges First, Then a $350 Billion Defense Bill: Senate Republicans Map Their Final Weeks in the Majority as a Dec. 11 Deadline Looms

Senate Republicans have about seven weeks left in the majority, and they are deciding how to spend them. The early answer from one senior Republican: confirm judges, fund the military and keep the plan narrow.

Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said Republicans will focus on confirming President Trump's federal judicial nominees during their remaining time running the chamber, along with the president's picks for executive branch posts, The Hill reported. He also put defense funding at the top of the list.

The biggest fight is over money for the Pentagon. President Trump on Thursday urged Senate leaders to move "IMMEDIATELY" on a budget reconciliation bill that would include $350 billion for national defense, Defense Daily reported. Reconciliation would let Republicans pass the bill with a simple majority, without needing Democratic votes to break a filibuster.

The $350 billion is part of a $1.5 trillion defense plan for fiscal 2027, with $1.15 trillion meant to move through the regular spending process and the rest through reconciliation, according to Defense Daily.

Cramer's own read has shifted. He said at one point that he saw almost no path for the package, then later said a narrow window exists if the bill stays free of unrelated priorities, according to reports on his comments. Senate Republicans are now weighing a defense-only, party-line spending bill, Semafor reported, as relayed by Political Wire, and Cramer summed up the odds simply: the narrower, the more likely.

The bigger constraint is the calendar. Congress must deal with government funding by Dec. 11, and the annual defense policy bill is also on the year-end list, according to an analysis by the law firm WilmerHale.

Some Republicans worry a partisan push could collide with that deadline. Sen. Mike Rounds said pursuing reconciliation in the lame duck would "absolutely" raise the risk of a government shutdown, The Hill reported. Democrats have warned that forcing extra Pentagon money through reconciliation would endanger a bipartisan deal to keep the government open, according to the same report. One Republican senator, speaking anonymously, said Majority Leader John Thune has privately discouraged colleagues from pursuing a partisan reconciliation package before the new Congress, The Hill reported.

Democrats, who take control in January, have shown no interest in helping. Top Senate Democrats threw cold water on the plan, and Sen. Chris Coons said there is no path before the new Congress, Defense Daily reported.

Our take: this is the right priority list. Judges confirmed now serve for decades, long after the next election. And a nation fighting a war with Iran, watching Russia and China closely and asking its troops to deploy again and again owes those troops a budget that matches the mission.

The case for moving quickly is also practical. Once Democrats hold the gavels in January, the president's defense request will have to pass through committees led by the other party. Key Republicans have already warned that funding for the Golden Dome missile shield could be under threat, The Washington Times reported.

But Thune's caution deserves respect, too. A shutdown in December would hand Democrats a talking point and leave service members and federal workers wondering about their paychecks at Christmas. The art of the lame duck is getting the most done without blowing up what must get done. Republicans can confirm judges, fund the troops and keep the government open, but only if they choose their fights with care.

Watch three things in the coming weeks: how many judicial nominees reach the floor, whether Republicans file a slimmed-down defense-only bill, and whether a stopgap or full-year funding deal comes together before Dec. 11. Each will show how much this Senate majority can still accomplish before it hands over the keys.