Digging out from a government shutdown will get most of their attention in the coming days, but U.S. Senator Ron Johnson and Rep. Mike Gallagher hope to be able to tackle a number of issues in 2019. Rep. Gallagher, a Republican, will be in the minority party when new congressional members are sworn in on January 3rd. That does not mean he plans on changing his approach to the job.

Senator Johnson, also a Republican, retained his title as the chairperson of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. His focus is on security.

After meeting briefly on Thursday, the House and Senate will reconvene on Monday to try to end the partial government shutdown that began almost a week ago.