The U.S. flag flies in font of the Capitol, Monday, June 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Congress’s most important job is deciding how federal money is spent. It hasn’t passed annual funding bills on time since 1997. And the normal act of budget-making has become all but impossible, with partisan gridlock and President Donald Trump’s push for Republicans to go it alone, opening new cracks in an already-battered system.