This Week on the Hill: 6 big fights Congress faces as it returns

Lawmakers are returning to Washington after a two-week recess to a packed and politically fraught agenda.

The weekend saw a growing wave of bipartisan calls for Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) to resign from Congress amid sexual assault allegations, which he has denied. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said she would file a motion to expel Swalwell.

Swalwell suspended his campaign for California governor on Sunday, after House Democratic leaders and other members of Congress pressured him to do so.

Political fallout from the Iran conflict, deepening GOP divisions over a national security bill and a record-long partial government shutdown are also set to take center stage.

Democrats in both chambers are pushing for a vote on a resolution that would curb President Trump’s war powers in Iran without congressional approval. The renewed effort comes amid backlash over Trump’s stark warning that a “whole civilization will die” if Tehran didn’t strike a peace deal, and uncertainty about the strength of the ceasefire that followed.

Many members of the party are also calling for Trump’s removal from office through impeachment or the 25th Amendment, putting pressure on Democratic leaders who so far have avoided taking a stance on the matter. 

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), meanwhile, is facing a rocky week as he contends with two bills that have divided Republicans.

Johnson is aiming to pass a bill reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the government to spy on foreigners located abroad without getting a warrant. Several conservatives have said they would oppose the measure, demanding reforms or to attach unrelated legislation, enough to tank the bill and force GOP leaders to either make concessions or rely on Democratic support to get it across the finish line.

And House Republicans over the recess vented frustration with GOP leaders’ plan to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the partial government shutdown drags on.

Republicans are preparing a second reconciliation bill that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol. The Senate passed a separate bill to fund the remainder of DHS. But some House Republicans insist they want to see the reconciliation bill come together before they consider the Senate bill — or to fully fund DHS through reconciliation. 

Also on lawmakers’ to-do list is the continuing debate over the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is still facing pressure from conservatives to pass the bill, despite the strong Democratic opposition.

And former Attorney General Pam Bondi is fueling controversy on Capitol Hill, as Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee demand she sit for her scheduled deposition with the panel as part of their investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

What you can expect this week:

House to vote on FISA reauthorization: House GOP leaders are aiming to hold a vote on a “clean” extension of Section 702 of FISA, despite members of their conference being divided over the measure.

Reconciliation 2.0 talks begin amid DHS shutdown: The Senate Budget Committee will begin drafting a second reconciliation bill that will include funding for ICE and Border Patrol as part of a deal to end the partial shutdown.

Congress to address Iran fallout: The Senate will vote on an Iran war powers resolution this week, though the measure is not expected to pass.

GOP doubles down on SAVE America Act: Thune is facing pressure from conservatives to get the SAVE America Act across the finish line. The upper chamber is expected to resume its debate over the bill. 

Fight over Bondi appearance heats up: Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said they are ready to hold Bondi in contempt if she does not appear for a scheduled deposition to address the Epstein files.

GOP, Democrats launch into expulsion wars: As calls to expel Swalwell intensify, some lawmakers are also setting their sights on ousting three other members accused of wrongdoing: Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) and Cory Mills (R-Fla.).

House Republicans divided over Section 702 FISA reauthorization

Johnson is aiming to pass a “clean” 18-month reauthorization of FISA’s warrantless surveillance powers this week, ahead of an April 20 expiration. But he will likely face a tough time getting the support needed.

Members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus have previously called for reforms to the section. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), a member of the group, told The Hill last month that a clean vote on FISA is “ignoring the fact that my constituents and their constitutional rights are being trampled on pretty much everyday by our intelligence community through FISA.”

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) voiced similar sentiments in March, saying that he’s got “a lot of concerns” about FISA and doesn’t like the government “spying on American citizens.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), meanwhile, has been leading the charge to oppose the bill unless it includes the SAVE America Act, a suite of Trump-endorsed voting reforms that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and a voter ID to cast a ballot. Burchett echoed that he will not support the bill “if the SAVE America Act is not in the mix.”

Johnson would need near-unanimous support from Republicans on a procedural rule vote to tee up the bill for debate and a final vote. GOP leaders were hoping to advance the measure before recess but delayed the vote in the face of opposition.

Democrats have been urging their colleagues to vote against a Section 702 reauthorization. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote in a letter that “we’re talking about an administration that has been trampling privacy rights and violating people’s civil liberties, and so they simply can’t be trusted with this awesome power.”

Senate to begin work on reconciliation bill to end DHS shutdown

Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is in the process of drafting a second reconciliation bill that will include funding for ICE and Border Patrol.

Democrats have blocked DHS funding bills that have included money for immigration enforcement from advancing in the Senate, demanding reforms after the killings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota by federal agents.

The reconciliation bill is part of a two-step process endorsed by Trump to end the DHS shutdown, which has stretched for nearly two months, without acquiescing to Democratic demands. The other step is a bipartisan bill to fund the rest of the department, which the Senate already passed by unanimous consent.

Reconciliation would allow Republicans to circumvent a filibuster in the Senate, as long as the legislation that is being considered meets certain budgetary requirements, but it is an arduous process that will require near-unanimous agreement among Republicans. 

But several House Republicans have said they won’t vote on the Senate bill until the reconciliation bill is done.

“There’s no desire to pass the Senate open borders bill and then hope that we get a reconciliation bill that would close the border. They’ve got to come together. And we obviously already have one. We have the Senate open borders bill. Now they’ve got to send over the one that will keep the border closed,” Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) said.

The House Freedom Caucus last week called to fully fund DHS in a GOP-only budget reconciliation bill, intensifying pressure on Johnson as he works to unite his conference around the funding deal.

Thune has indicated that a reconciliation bill to fund border security operations might not contain other priorities that Republicans have discussed including in another GOP-only measure, such as voting reforms or supplemental funding for the Iran operation, in order to move the funding more quickly. That’s led GOP leaders to float a potential third reconciliation measure this fall.

Iran war powers resolutions and calls for 25th Amendment on the table

The Senate is set to vote on a Democratic-backed war powers resolution this week to limit Trump’s military actions in Iran. The vote is expected to fail, though, given the overwhelming Republican opposition.

Senate Republicans last month defeated a similar motion, with only Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) breaking from his party to support it. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), a maverick in his party who opposed the motion, said that he plans to vote against it again. 

“We have to stand [with] our military to allow them to accomplish the goals of [Operation] Epic Fury,” he told Fox News host Sean Hannity last week. “I’m old enough to remember we used to root for our military, and we would all agree that Iran is the world’s leading terrorism underwriter.”

House Democrats are also aiming to bring a war powers resolution to the floor again, after they unsuccessfully tried to pass one during a pro forma session last week, but they are more hopeful of passage.  

“A two-week ceasefire is not sufficient. We need a permanent end to Donald Trump’s costly and reckless war of choice. And House Democrats are committed to bringing about that outcome,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

Democrats are also calling for Trump officials to invoke the 25th Amendment, which says that the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet may vote to declare a president “unable to discharge the powers and the duties of his office” and give the vice president the duties of acting president. 

A dispute over the president’s capacity to perform the job would then be sent to Congress, which could concur by a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate. 

But some Democrats have acknowledged that efforts to remove Trump would be an uphill climb in Congress, whether it be through the 25th Amendment or impeachment, that would also distract from their core midterm message. It also takes a majority vote of the House to impeach and a two-thirds vote in the Senate to convict and remove a president.

“To do those things, you have to have the votes,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the sponsor of a war powers resolution in the House, told CNN last week. “And when I see that we have Republicans who won’t even have hearings in regard to oversight, so there’s no oversight by Republicans, and they control the House, they control the Senate, they have the presidency.”

SAVE America Act debate continues as conservatives pressure Thune

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the leading proponent of the SAVE America Act, said in a video clip on the social platform X that the Senate will resume its marathon debate on the bill this week. Senate Democrats have railed against the measure, arguing they will do whatever it takes to stop it from advancing in the upper chamber. 

Lee, as well as other conservatives in the Senate and House, have been clamoring for Thune to sidestep Democratic opposition through the use of a “talking filibuster,” which would force Democrats to speak continuously on the Senate floor to delay the bill. In such a scenario, if Democrats ceded the floor, Republicans could pass the measure with 51 votes. 

“We have two choices: (1) Enforce the Talking Filibuster, or (2) Nuke the Zombie Filibuster. I strongly prefer the former. But the status quo is unacceptable,” Lee wrote on X last week. 

But Thune has opted against using such a procedure, which he has previously said is “much more complicated and risky than people are assuming.”

Graham said during an event in South Carolina earlier this month that a third reconciliation bill will be coming in the fall to target fraud and incorporate voter reforms that he described as a “down payment on the SAVE Act.”

But House Republicans have been skeptical about including voter reforms in a reconciliation bill, arguing that it would likely be stripped out by the Senate parliamentarian under the process. 

Democrats demand Bondi appear for deposition

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have demanded that Bondi be held in contempt if she fails to comply with a subpoena to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the Epstein files — a fight that is expected to heat up this week.

The Department of Justice said last week that Bondi “will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General,” a spokesperson for the committee said.

But the panel’s Democrats have refuted that argument, noting that Bondi was subpoenaed by name to sit for a deposition with the panel, as were other former attorneys general.

“Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not. She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges in the Congress. The survivors deserve justice,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the panel’s ranking member, said in a statement.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has echoed Democratic calls to hold Bondi in contempt if she doesn’t appear for the deposition. Mace, who introduced the measure to subpoena Bondi, got the backing of four GOP colleagues and all the Democrats on the panel in a vote last month. 

“We expect Pam Bondi’s deposition to be rescheduled in a timely fashion. Our motion made clear the Committee must issue a subpoena to Pam Bondi, not the occupant of the office of Attorney General of the United States,” Mace wrote on X. 

Swalwell under fire over sexual assault allegations

Luna said she plans to introduce a motion to expel Swalwell this week, a move several Democrats and Republicans have indicated they would support alongside an effort to expel Gonzales, who drew scrutiny after admitting to having an affair with one of his staffers, who died last year.

Mace, Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) are among the lawmakers who have called for both men to step down. 

“These women have suffered enough. Now we must act to protect them and make sure there is accountability,” Leger Fernandez wrote in a statement. 

Luna wrote on X that she will inquire with the House parliamentarian about whether she can pair her motion to expel Swalwell with Gonzales.

House Democratic leaders haven’t gone so far as to say Swalwell should resign from Congress. House GOP leaders, meanwhile, have been mum on the growing calls for Gonzales to resign.

The calls for Swalwell to step down have also sparked some lawmakers to eye a vote on expelling Cherfilus-McCormick and Mills. A House Ethics subcommittee last month announced that the panel had proven 25 of 27 counts of ethics violations against Cherfilus-McCormick, centering on allegations that she used millions in improperly paid federal disaster funds to finance her campaign. 

Mills, meanwhile, is under investigation by a House Ethics subcommittee over a wide swath of allegations, including whether he violated campaign finance laws, received special favors in his position, engaged in sexual misconduct and misused congressional resources.

Emily Brooks and Rebecca Beitsch contributed to this report.

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