The White House is trying to stave off a revolt on Capitol Hill against its military actions in Iran, as both chambers are set to vote on resolutions this week that would put guardrails on President Donald Trump’s unilateral use of military force.
Their first order of business: Bring administration heavies to Capitol Hill to discuss the rationale for strikes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on the Hill Monday to brief congressional leaders. He’ll be back Tuesday with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and they plan to meet first with members of the Senate, then the House.
At this point, lawmakers on both sides are decrying a lack of details from the administration — including evidence that Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S. that would necessitate military action. But so far, it’s looking like Republican leaders will be able to avoid mass GOP defections on the war power votes being forced in both chambers.
When the Senate votes Wednesday on Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) bipartisan resolution that would prevent further attacks without congressional buy-in, Democrats will need to pick up at least five Republicans to secure adoption — given Democratic Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) expected opposition. Watch GOP Sens. Todd Young (Ind.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine), who helped advance a Venezuela war powers effort last month and were noncommittal Monday when asked how they’d vote on Iran.
Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Monday he believes he has the votes to block Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna’s (D-Calif.) Iran war powers resolution in the House, which will hit the floor Thursday.
“The idea that we would take the ability of our commander in chief … to finish this job, is a frightening prospect to me,” he said.
— Pressure on DHS funding: Republicans have another job this week — build pressure on Democrats to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, citing a need to fully fund the agency amid heightened security risks following the strikes in Iran.
The House Rules Committee convenes at 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon to tee up another vote Thursday on a DHS funding bill similar to what the chamber passed last month, with Republicans daring Democrats to vote against defending the homeland.
But there are no signs of Democratic surrender as the DHS shutdown enters Day 18 amid a stalemate over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda. Democratic leaders in the House are whipping against the vote, telling members there is “no new language to end the chaos caused by ICE in communities across the country.”
Expect more debate when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies in front of members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. These will be her first congressional hearings since the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents, which sparked the DHS impasse in Congress.
What else we’re watching:
— Texas primary day: Leaders in both parties will be closely watching a slew of House and Senate races in Texas Tuesday night that could determine control of Congress next year. The biggest contests across the Lone Star State will be the Senate primaries. James Talarico and Rep. Jasmine Crockett are vying for the Democratic nomination, while Sen. John Cornyn, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt are competing for the Republican nomination.
— Farm bill markup: House Agriculture will Tuesday evening begin marking up a farm bill years in the making — and some of the amendments under consideration will be more viable than others.
In the DOA category: Proposals from Democrats, including Reps. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), that would reverse GOP cuts to food aid spending that were enacted in last summer’s megabill. In the more likely category: Rep. Jim Baird (R-Ind.) plans to offer an amendment that would postpone new restrictions on hemp products by two years, which would be a win for the hemp industry resistant to further regulation.
Katherine Tully-McManus, Jordain Carney, Andrew Howard, Rachel Shin and Grace Yarrow contributed to this report.
