At the top of Congress’ to-do list as lawmakers return to Washington, D.C., following their recess is how to reach an agreement to fund the government beyond the Sept. 30 deadline. 

The House and Senate have 14 legislative days to reach an agreement on a stopgap bill to avert a shutdown amid a contentious political climate. 

“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we’re racing against the clock to get an appropriations package done,” said House Appropriations Committee member Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla. “It’s going to be a very busy four weeks.” Read Full Story

• The Washington Times: Momentum Builds for Congressional Redistricting in GOP-Led States
• Townhall: Democrats Appeal to Miserable People
• Washington Examiner: Measuring Trump’s Deportation Success
• PJ Media: Even CNN Admits Trump Had Cause to Fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook
• The Federalist: Trump Admin Is Eradicating Racism From College Admissions, and the Left Hates It

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Republicans opened a probe into alleged organized efforts to inject bias into Wikipedia entries and the organization’s responses. 

Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., chair of the panel’s subcommittee on cybersecurity, information technology, and government innovation, sent a letter Wednesday to Maryana Iskander, chief executive officer of the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia, stating the request was part of an investigation into “foreign operations and individuals at academic institutions subsidized by U.S. taxpayer dollars to influence U.S. public opinion.” Read Full Story

• The Hill: Returning Republicans Look for Fix to Trump Nominee Logjam
• The Washington Times: Republicans Bring Bill to Split California Into Two States
• The Federalist: Wisconsin Judge Will Stand Trial on Charges of Helping Illegal Alien Flee From ICE
• The Daily Caller: Do New Yorkers Even Like Him? We Have More Proof That Mamdani Is Artificially Propped Up
• American Greatness: Stephen Miller: ‘Massive Scandal’ Brewing in D.C. Involving ‘Doctored’ Crime Statistics, Murders Counted as ‘Accidents’

The Texas House signaled it would move quickly on redistricting and other legislative matters after reaching a quorum Monday afternoon following the return of Democrats who had fled the state in protest against GOP efforts to push through a new congressional map. 

The session lasted just under half an hour, with a number of bills being read and referred to different committees, including legislation around the proposed GOP House map.

Democrats had signaled they would return to the state after two conditions were met: Texas lawmakers adjourning their first special session Friday and California Democrats introducing their own House map that looks to offset expected gains from Texas’s new House map. Both of those happened last week. Read Full Story

• Townhall: So, That’s Why Texas Dems Finally Surrendered on the New Congressional Map
• American Greatness: Trump Approval Surges to 54 Percent After Meeting With Putin
• The Washington Times: Residents in D.C.’S High-Crime Neighborhoods Back Federal Takeover of City Police
• PJ Media: ‘Fake Crime Numbers’: Trump Bashes DC Dems
• The Daily Caller: Why Some Californians Want Zero Part in Newsom’s Gerrymandering Scheme