Friedman, Valliere: Appropriations, Border Wall, Retirement Collide in December

"Because the Republicans hold 51 seats in the existing Senate, some Democratic support is necessary for passage," Friedman said, adding that Trump has demanded that the appropriations bill provide sufficient funds to begin constructing a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border.

However, "Democrats have made clear their strong opposition to that objective. The Democratic takeover of the House in the next Congress adds some urgency to the President's demand that the matter be settled now," Friedman opines.

That mandate sets up "the possibility of the parties failing to reach agreement on funding legislation," he continued. "If that scenario appears plausible as Dec. 7 approaches, it could roil the markets, which prefer to see Washington handle ministerial matters without fanfare."

Valliere sees Trump getting a "few billion" for border security, "which he can probably apply to construction of a wall, despite objections from Democrats."

However, Trump "will not get as much funding as he wants, and that could prompt a Dec. 8 shutdown until there's an inevitable deal that will give him a couple billion more."

As to the bipartisan RESA legislation, Friedman notes that while the bill aims to "extend access to pension plans for employees of small companies and to ease market concerns that impede the inclusion of lifetime income products in employer-sponsored plans," the bill's downside is that it "threatens to curtail significantly the use of 'stretch IRAs' (a strategy that defers distributions to IRA beneficiaries)."