This week on The Hill: Lawmakers grapple with Iran conflict

Lawmakers are grappling with President Trump’s decision to launch strikes against Iran over the weekend, setting off a widening conflict that is set to dominate Washington’s attention this week.

The joint strikes with Israel killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the conflict has spread as Iran launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and eight Arab countries.

Republicans have largely backed Trump’s decision, while Democrats argue the administration should have sought congressional approval before launching the strikes and warn the White House is putting U.S. troops at risk.

That argument will come to a head in both chambers this week.

Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) plan to force a vote on a war powers resolution this week that would require authorization from Congress before Trump can use military force against Iran again.

The House is only scheduled to hold votes Wednesday and Thursday of this week, after canceling votes last week on Tuesday and Friday. Khanna, however, urged the chamber to convene on Monday to take up the resolution.

“The American people are tired of regime change wars that cost us billions of dollars and risk our lives,” Khanna said in a video clip shared on the social platform X. “We don’t want to be at war with a country of 90 million people in the Middle East.”

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) also said in a statement that the Senate should return immediately to vote on his war powers resolution, which would “block the use of U.S. forces in hostilities against Iran.” 

“This is an illegal war. I have a war powers resolution queued up for vote this week, and I’m encouraging my colleagues to assert the constitutional power vested in the legislative branch,” the Virginia senator said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” 

The Trump administration plans to brief House lawmakers on Tuesday about Iran, a source told The Hill. Senators will also get briefed Tuesday, according to NewsNation.

What else you can expect this week:

DHS shutdown collides with Iran conflict: As Senate Democrats and the White House continue to go back and forth on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reforms, Republicans point to the weekend strikes to urge Democrats to end the agency shutdown. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is slated to appear for a pair of hearings in the House and Senate this week.

House committee to take up farm bill: The House Committee on Agriculture is expected to hold a hold a meeting Tuesday to advance the farm bill. 

Senate to take up housing bill: The Senate will consider a bipartisan, sweeping housing package, dubbed the Housing for the 21st Century Act, that passed the House in February. Senators are expected to make changes to the bill. 

Possible censure wars loom: A House Republican is eyeing censuring Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) for protesting during Trump’s State of the Union address. 

War powers votes to take center stage

War powers resolutions are privileged parliamentary procedures in the House and Senate, allowing members to bypass leaders to force floor votes on the matter.

It’s unclear how they’ll fare, now that the U.S. is engaged in active hostilities.

As of last week, Khanna and Massie’s measure appeared unlikely to pass, given the overwhelming opposition from Republicans. At least two Democrats — Reps. Josh Gottheimer (N.J.) and Jared Moskowitz (Fla.), both of whom are close allies of Israel — had initially expressed their opposition to the resolution, but it is unclear where they stand now in the wake of the strikes. 

Still, Massie said he wanted to put lawmakers on the record about the issue.

“I am opposed to this War. This is not ‘America First.’ When Congress reconvenes, I will work with @RepRoKhanna to force a Congressional vote on war with Iran,” Massie wrote on the social platform X. “The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.”

When asked whether he thinks he has enough votes for the resolution to pass, Khanna acknowledged in an interview with NBC News that “it’s going to be very close.”

“It depends if we can keep several Democrats in line,” he said. “Josh Gottheimer, Congressman Moskowitz, folks who have been on the fence, but I believe that this is a disastrous vote for any Democrats to vote for Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East, so I hope we will hold the line.”

Along with Massie, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) has expressed support for the war powers resolution. He wrote on X before the strikes that “war requires Congressional authorization. These are actions short of war, but no case has been made.” 

He wrote on X after the strikes, “Obviously, President Trump has favored diplomacy over war, as @VP celebrated in his endorsement. Nevertheless, war requires a vote by Congress. I look forward to hearing the full intelligence picture @POTUS found persuasive.”

In the Senate, a war powers resolution requires only a simple majority of 51 votes.

Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) is a co-sponsor of Kaine’s war powers resolution and the only Senate Republican on record thus far opposing the war.

“But my oath of office is to the Constitution, so with studied care, I must oppose another Presidential war,” he wrote on X on Saturday.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), however, wrote on X, “Events are rapidly unfolding, and I expect Congress to receive the same level of engagement so we fully understand the scope, objectives, and risks of any further military action.”

And Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said on X, “Sustained combat operations require full engagement with Congress. There are important questions that will be discussed in the Senate’s classified briefings with Administration officials next week.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), meanwhile, said he’s a “hard no” on the war powers resolution.

Negotiators search for a solution on DHS as partial shutdown enters third week

The White House and Senate Democrats remain at an impasse over funding DHS, as both sides reject the other’s counterproposals as insufficient. Democrats’ demand for reforms comes after immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota.

But Republicans are pointing to the conflict with Iran as they push Democrats to bring the shutdown to an end.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) wrote on X, “Following the successful strikes on Iran and the FBI’s warning of elevated threats here at home, it is dangerous for Democrats in Washington to keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down.”

“This week, we are calling on House Democrats to end their dangerous games by bringing to the floor legislation to end the DHS shutdown so we can ensure agencies can protect America during this dangerous time,” Scalise wrote. “This is the time for all Americans to come together and support our troops while we protect our homeland.”

A floor vote in the House is expected Thursday, a GOP source told The Hill.

Also this week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced on Friday that they are reviewing a counteroffer made by the White House.

“We have received the White House’s counteroffer and are reviewing it closely. Democrats remain committed to keep fighting for real reforms to rein in ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and stop the violence,” spokespeople for Schumer and Jeffries said in a joint statement.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters last week that talks at this stage are “informal,” with negotiators keeping up dialogue to find a “landing spot.”

“The conversations — they continue, but I wouldn’t say there’s been a, necessarily, a breakthrough yet. … I hope that we get it funded,” Thune said. 

House Agriculture Committee to hold markup of farm bill

The House Committee on Agriculture will hold a meeting to advance the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 on Tuesday.

Congress is expected to pass a full farm bill, a massive package of provisions for agricultural and food programs, every five years. But a new one has not been enacted since 2018, with Congress extending its provisions past its 2023 expiration with various continuing resolutions and funding bills.

Many agricultural and food assistance provisions were addressed in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed without input or support from Democrats last year.

Some Democrats have already signaled opposition to the farm bill. House Agriculture Committee ranking member Angie Craig (D-Minn.) said that the bill “fails to meet the moment facing farmers and working people” and includes “poison pills that complicates if not derails chances of getting anything done.”

 But ahead of the hearing, committee Chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) touted the bill as “bipartisan.”

“I always like to say that a good farm bill process is ‘tripartisan’ because it’s a collaboration between Republicans, Democrats, and stakeholders,” Thompson said. “The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 reflects this principle from start to finish and across all 12 titles. The numbers don’t lie — this is a bipartisan farm bill, and calling it anything else is a serious mischaracterization of the facts.”

Senate to consider housing bill 

The Senate is set to hold a procedural vote Monday on a sweeping bipartisan housing package, dubbed the Housing for the 21st Century Act, that overwhelmingly passed the lower chamber in early February.

The bill includes provisions that would direct the Government Accountability Office to study gaps in federal housing programs and modernize the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program, among other actions. 

But senators are expected to make changes to the bill. Any changes to the bill will have to be sent back to the House for approval.

Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sponsored their own bipartisan housing bill, dubbed the ROAD to Housing Act, last year. They had pushed unsuccessfully for provisions of the bill to be included in the National Defense Authorization Act in December.

Two Senate aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Politico that the House-passed bill is expected to be used as a vehicle to incorporate aspects of the ROAD to Housing Act.  

Republican eyes censuring Texas Democrat Al Green

Rep. Michael Rulli (R-Ohio) told Fox News Digital last week that he is looking for lawmakers to support a censure resolution he introduced against Green, who was escorted out of the chamber during Trump’s State of the Union address.

Green had held up a sign that read “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES” as Trump entered. He told The Hill after leaving the chamber that the sign referred to a since-deleted clip Trump had posted depicting former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.

Rulli’s resolution states that Green’s actions were a “breach of proper conduct.”

It also notes that it was the “second time in less than a year that the Representative from Texas had to be removed from the chamber by the Sergeant at Arms due to unpatriotic disruptions that violated numerous House rules related to decorum.” Green also protested during Trump’s address to Congress in March 2025. 

The resolution was referred to the House Ethics Committee, according to congress.gov.

Jeffries said last week that the message Green communicated was “obviously on point.”

“It was far less profane than my reaction to the very same racist video that Donald Trump felt compelled to produce,” Jeffries said. “And I think, you know, for us, as we had asked everyone to do, if you’re going to go, we will express ourselves in a manner consistent with being in the House chamber and that was done.”

If Republicans move forward with a censure resolution, it could trigger a tit-for-tat escalation. Democrats have already called for Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) to be formally reprimanded over a social media post saying he would choose dogs over Muslims.

Emily Brooks, Mike Lillis, Al Weaver and Alexander Bolton contributed to this report.

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