Lamest lame duck

Congress left for Thanksgiving without checking anything big off its to-do list during the lame duck, leaving just 10 days to fund the government when they come back in December and likely pushing big items like authorizing force against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants and the confirmation of an attorney general into 2015.

As Republicans take the reins of both chambers of Congress for the first time in nearly a decade, their new agenda will be consumed with leftover business, a reality check for many in the party who had hoped to come out swinging in the new year on tax reform, trade deals, energy legislation and changes to Obamacare. When Congress returns in December, not only will lawmakers have to figure out the length of a government funding bill, they must decide whether to extend a package of expiring corporate and individual tax breaks and reauthorize a terrorism insurance program. If those items slip into next year, they’ll just be added onto the pile.