Senate war powers vote coming this week
President Donald Trump already had Republicans scrambling to get their 'big, beautiful bill' to his desk by next week. Now he's got Congress grappling with something even bigger: the aftermath of his airstrikes on Iran.
The issue could come to a head with a vote as soon as this week. Sen. Tim Kaine's (D-Va.) resolution requiring congressional approval for military action in Iran ripens Friday but is expected to be on the floor sooner with the megabill set to eat up the back half of the week. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is pushing to move up the vote. He's urging his party to support the measure, but Democrats expect to lose the vote of Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.). On the GOP side, keep an eye on Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), who said Sunday on X 'Congress alone' has the power to authorize war.
Lawmakers in both chambers are set to receive briefings Tuesday on the situation in Iran; they were on the books before the strikes.
In the House, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna's (D-Calif.) war powers resolution, which would block U.S. involvement in Iran, will not ripen until next week. But House GOP leadership is considering getting ahead of that: Speaker Mike Johnson could move this week to kill the effort with language getting rid of the privileged nature of the resolution, according to a person granted anonymity to relay the private discussions.
Trump and GOP leaders are moving to unify the rank-and-file behind Trump's decision to strike, even as Trump openly muses about pursuing regime change in Iran. Take note of Trump's renewed attacks on Massie — a person familiar with the conversations who was granted anonymity to discuss them tells POLITICO it's part of an effort to keep members in line.
Adding to the chaos for Republicans is Trump's Sunday evening musing about pursuing 'regime change' in Iran if its current leaders can't 'MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN.'
'This is not America First folks,' Massie said in response to Trump's Truth Social post.
House Democrats are less unified. Most are questioning the constitutionality of the strike, but the party is split on where to go from there. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) has brought up impeachment. Others, like Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.), were more supportive of the strike. That could be a problem for Democrats trying to strengthen their opposition.
The top Democrats on Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Armed Services are drafting their own resolution in response to the strikes, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the plan.
There are likely a handful of pro-Israel Democrats who will vote against any war powers resolution. Even if the bill makes it to a House floor vote there likely won't be enough Republicans.
What else we're watching:
— Megabill's big week: Republicans will hold a closed-door meeting Monday night after votes for leadership to update members on the GOP megabill and its outstanding issues. Full bill text could land Monday, though it may also slip. While the 'big, beautiful bill' could hit the floor as soon as Wednesday, Thursday is looking more likely.
— First Dem oversight vote: House Democrats' steering committee will vote this evening on who should be the party's leader on the Oversight Committee, followed by a full caucus vote Tuesday. California Rep. Robert Garcia, 47, is seen as the favorite in a field split along generational lines. He's running against Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, 44; Kweisi Mfume of Maryland, 76; and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, 70.
— Slashes to GAO funding: House Republican appropriators are proposing to cut funding for the Government Accountability Office by nearly half. It's the latest in a series of flash points between the GOP and the watchdog agency, which has been involved in clashes this year over DOGE, regulatory rollbacks and Trump's incursions into the power of the purse.
Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Nicholas Wu and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.
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