All that stands between Congress and its holiday recess is the rapidly approaching deadline to keep the federal government operating into the new year when Republicans will reign in both chambers. Why it matters: While lawmakers in both parties expect the government to stay open past the Dec.

The government shutdown deadline is a little over a week away. Republican congressional leadership hopes to buy time until next year, when the Senate and White House also come under GOP control, creating a trifecta with the House, which maintained its Republican majority.

Congress has just 10 days until government funding is set to run out, and lawmakers don’t have a deal to keep the lights on during the holidays.