1) A LOT of balls in the air today on Capitol Hill, as is per usual here in December.

The House is expected to vote on a short-term spending bill today to avoid a government shutdown this weekend. Remember, this was supposed to be the easy part of the puzzle.

2) There are dozens of unresolved issues. So the new deadline for government funding will be 11:59:59 pm on December 18.

It’s possible the Senate could take up the stopgap funding bill today. But unclear. That may have to wait until tomorrow.

3) The Senate could also vote today to align with the House and pass the final version of the defense bill. But that could wait until tomorrow or even next week.

A veto override fight is brewing on this with President Trump.

4) The House scored WELL above the two-thirds necessary to override Mr. Trump’s threatened veto. In fact, the vote total last night went well above what the House had to approve the initial version of the legislation in the summer.

5) Based on the Senate’s vote total on the original version (86 yeas), senators should have the necessary votes to sync with the House and override the President later this month.

Congress has never overriden one of President Trump’s eight vetoes.

6) The stars are now aligning that a successful veto override is all but inevitable.

The House and Senate must take separate votes to override the President. The earliest that could happen is next week. It depends on when/if the President actually vetoes the bill.

7) Under Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution, President Trump has ten days (Sundays excluded) to sign or veto the bill once it is sent to him. The defense bill could become law if the President doesn’t sign it during that period.

8) It is notable that this legislation has emerged as something of a litmus test for Republicans and how willing they are to supporthe President in the waning days of his administration.

9) Also, Congressional Democratic leaders last night distanced themselves from the latest administration proposal for coronavirus relief. Meantime, a coalition of bipartisan senators continue to toil behind the scenes on their own package. But the sides are far from an agreement.