Republicans' final weeks in power may be consumed by fights they don't want

Republicans are returning to work this week, facing the prospect of an especially lame lame-duck session after a bruising midterm election that set off a countdown clock on their control of Congress. Why it matters: Democrats have little incentive to help Republicans advance their agenda before January, while departing GOP lawmakers could complicate matters further by skipping votes or defying party leaders.As a result, most of the items on their to-do list could get kicked to the new Congress.That's aside from a few items House GOP leaders would rather avoid altogether: another Jeffrey Epstei