Outlook for the second session of the 119th Congress
Updated January 23rd: After a first session defined by procedural friction, short-term funding measures and a record government shutdown, the second session of the 119th Congress is unfolding with fresh challenges, along with unresolved issues from the previous session.
House Republicans went into the Second Session holding only a razor-thin majority. Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s, R-California, unexpected death brings the House of Representatives balance to 218-213. Speaker Mike Johnson is now able to afford just two defections on any party-line vote if all members are present.
Just days after the Second Session opened, Johnson’s challenges in keeping his party unified were dramatically illustrated. Seventeen Republicans, ranging from moderates to conservatives, joined every Democrat on Jan. 8 to pass a bill, 230-196, to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years. It represented a forceful rebuke of House party leadership by Republicans. Prospects for passage of the bill in the Senate are unclear.
FY 2026 appropriations have dominated the early weeks of the Second Session. Signaling the priorities of lawmakers to avoid another government shutdown, the House on Jan. 22 approved its final slate of 2026 funding bills. A three-bill appropriations package passed, 341-88, funding the departments of Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education and other related agencies. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which drew the sharpest disagreement, was approved by the House in a separate vote of 220–207.
The four bills will be folded into a two-bill package the House passed the previous week and sent to the Senate. Senators are expected to consider the package after returning from recess on Monday ahead of the Jan. 30 deadline that could trigger a government shutdown if the government is not funded.
In addition to monitoring these developments and their impact on the legal profession and the justice system, the American Bar Association is actively advocating for appropriations and federal policy changes that affect access to justice, judicial security and higher education financing, including law school student loans.
So far this Session, the Senate and the House have voted to provide $540 million for fiscal year 2026 to the Legal Services Corporation, in the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies fiscal year 2026 appropriations legislation. The package is expected to be signed into law. The ABA made increased funding for the Legal Services Corporation a central advocacy priority during its April Day 2025 efforts in Washington, D.C., and conducted grassroots campaigns urging strong and sustained LSC funding. In May 2025, the White House proposed eliminating LSC in FY 2026.
Included in appropriations passed by the House on Jan. 14 is full funding for federal public defense services through Sept. 30. The development follows a year of sustained advocacy by the ABA to restore full funding to the federal indigent defense system, as appropriations to compensate private lawyers who accept federal public defense clients dried up.
Following an Oct. 22 letter from ABA President Michelle Behnke, GAO advocacy and a coordinated ABA grassroots advocacy campaign, Congress passed and the president signed into law a critically needed $90 million increase to federal public defense funding to run through Jan. 30 (P.L. 110-37). But that adjusted funding level was still $200 million short of what is needed to keep federal public defense services available this year, so advocacy continued.
The compromise appropriations package would also provide $892 million for juridical judicial court security for fiscal year 2026, an increase of $142 million compared to fiscal year 2025 funding requested by the judiciary. The package will still needs to be taken up by the House and the Senate.
With ample policy on judicial security, the ABA is continues to urge the House to pass HR 4602, Countering Threats and Attacks on our Judges Act, which the Senate passed by unanimous consent in November. The bipartisan bill would establish a state judicial threat and intelligence resource center tasked with monitoring and tracking threats and instances of violence against state and local judges, providing security assessments for courts and judges’ homes and issuing best practices to prevent future attacks.
Among its other legislative priorities this year, the ABA is closely monitoring implementation of landmark changes mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 as they affect student loans for higher education, including law school. The Act will require prospective law students to plan differently for financing their education and change how lawyers and other professionals repay their debt. The student loan changes take effect beginning on July 1.
Also on student debt, the ABA is tracking enforcement of a U.S. Department of Education regulation, issued Oct. 31, that revised the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The regulation allows the Secretary to disqualify employers from the PSLF program based on a controversial definition of “substantial illegal purpose.” It also takes effect July 1. The ABA will provide updates as significant developments occur.
As the second session of the 119th Congress moves forward, the American Bar Association will remain actively engaged, advocating for the rule of law and policies that support the legal profession and the justice system. Through its work, the ABA will continue to serve as a strong, nonpartisan voice for the legal profession as policymakers address the complex and evolving challenges ahead.
This report is written by the ABA Governmental Affairs Office and discusses advocacy efforts by the ABA relating to issues being addressed by Congress and the executive branch of the U.S. government. Follow us on social media platforms @ABAGrassroots to learn more about significant legislative and governmental developments of interest to the ABA as they happen.
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