Inside Democrats' long game on Iran
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, joined by Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in January. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Senate Democrats expect to lose a symbolic vote this week to check President Trump's authority to strike Iran. They're preparing for a bigger fight over the war's funding.
Why it matters: The War Powers Resolution vote, which could come as soon as Tuesday, will unite the Democratic Party on process. But a potential funding debate could expose deeper foreign policy disagreements in the party.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a leading progressive critic of Trump's foreign policy, told Axios on Monday that Democrats need to focus on "the purse strings" in trying to push back against the war in Iran.
- Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said on X on Sunday that "when the bill comes" for Trump's military action, "the middle eastern countries that we have been protecting need to pay for it."
Driving the news: After being briefed by administration officials Monday afternoon, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Congress may need to consider a supplemental appropriations package down the line.
- "There are more details to be determined on how long the operation goes and what the need is," Johnson told reporters.
- Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Axios that while she hasn't heard whether a supplemental will be needed, the U.S. is "spending a lot of money in the Middle East."
- "Let's wait. Let's play one step at a time," said Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). "Let's deal with the War Powers first."
State of play: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe briefed senior lawmakers from both parties ahead of separate briefings for the full House and Senate on Tuesday.
- Lawmakers left the briefings with starkly different views, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling the Trump administration's justification for the use of force inadequate.
- "I found the answers completely and totally insufficient," Schumer said. "In fact, at least to me, that briefing raised many more questions than it answered."
Zoom out: Just as Democrats — with the exception of Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) — are expected to support the War Powers Resolution, Republicans look to be united on opposing it — with the exception of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
- "What this administration has done is consistent with what previous administrations have done, and in prior conflicts," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters.
- It was addressing a "national security issue that needed to be addressed," Thune said.
Zoom in: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who initially supported a War Powers Resolution on Venezuela, announced he would oppose one on Iran.
- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters they were still undecided.
- Centrist Democrats also said they would support the resolution. That includes the likes of Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.).
The bottom line: The War Powers Resolution is expected to fall along party lines in the Senate.
- A funding fight will be less predictable but more consequential.
