President Donald Trump’s expanding assault on Iran is poised to pass its first political test on Capitol Hill this week, despite emerging economic fallout and his own warning about more American casualties to come.
Bipartisan attempts to rebuke Trump are likely to fail during Iran war powers votes in the Senate on Tuesday and the House on Thursday. Most Republicans and a number of Democrats — including Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Rep. Greg Landsman of Ohio — are signaling support for what could be a multi-week military operation that’s so far killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian leaders.
Administration officials are set to brief top congressional leaders Monday at 4 p.m. The full House and Senate will then receive briefings Tuesday from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
So far, the administration is making the case that it ordered the strikes to stop an imminent threat from Tehran, but it has provided no evidence of such plans by Iran.
Few Republicans appear ready to break with the White House. Beyond Kentucky’s Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie, who are leading the war powers push on the GOP side, one to watch is Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio, who said on X Sunday, “America First is supposed to be a policy mindset, not another empty slogan with hollow promises.” It will also be a tough vote for frontline Republicans in competitive seats.
GOP leaders are telling members that the killing of Khamenei was a win and arguing that the strikes were justified after Iran failed to abandon its nuclear ambitions via diplomatic off-ramps. House GOP Whip Tom Emmer pressed Republicans in a private conference call Sunday to show up for votes this week to oppose the bipartisan Iran war powers resolution led by Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer say the administration hasn’t presented enough evidence to warrant the strikes on Iran. Top House Democrats and key committee ranking members urged their caucus in a call Sunday night to support the war powers resolution.
With oil prices poised to rise, Democrats are beginning to highlight what could turn into real cost-of-living concerns. Beyond Iran-related oil price pressures, Schumer this week plans to introduce a bill aimed at companies that control the beef market.
The politics of the Iran conflict are spilling over into the ongoing DHS shutdown, with Republicans citing the potential for retaliatory terror attacks in a new push to pressure Democrats to back down on their funding demands. House Republicans are expected to hold another DHS funding vote Thursday.
Democrats don’t appear to be budging.
“We can do two things at once,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on CBS Sunday. “We can demand that ICE stop murdering American citizens, and we can demand that the administration not send our kids to die for a war that we don’t need.”
What else we’re watching:
The Senate will vote on advancing housing affordability legislation at 5:30 p.m. after weekend talks over how to package priorities from the Senate, House and White House.
If a measure passes both chambers it would be the first time housing legislation has cleared Congress in a decade and it could be one of the few bipartisan bills that comes out of Capitol Hill this year — but there’s still a ways to go before legislation reaches the president’s desk.
Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Mia McCarthy and Katherine Hapgood contributed to this report.