Senate Republican leaders are eyeing an eleventh-hour gambit to spare President Trump from a symbolic — but humiliating — defeat on Venezuela.

• But two powerful Senate appropriators — one Republican and one Democrat — are pursuing a more traditional path to constrain the president on Greenland: cutting off the money.

Why it matters: Today's twin developments highlight the challenges Trump faces as he seeks to flesh out his "Don-Roe" doctrine in this hemisphere — and potentially the Arctic.

• GOP leaders are comfortable giving Trump free rein. But a handful of Republicans are growing more assertive in trying to check his ambitions.

Zoom in: Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) introduced legislation today to prevent the administration from annexing or occupying the territory of a NATO member state.

• "The mere notion that America would use our vast resources against our allies is deeply troubling and must be wholly rejected by Congress in statute," Murkowski told the Financial Times.
• The two lawmakers will join a bipartisan delegation to Denmark this weekend — a symbolic winter flight meant to signal firm opposition to annexing Greenland.

The other side: A similar effort to prevent Trump from taking Greenland, by force or by sale, is underway in the House. However, it's mostly a Democratic effort.

• At least one House Republican is pushing for annexation — and statehood.

What we're watching: There has been intense pressure on the five Republicans who defied Trump on an initial procedural vote on the war powers resolution targeting Venezuela, with most people eyeing Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Todd Young (Ind.).

• At a closed-door lunch today, Republican leaders floated a way to block final passage of Sen. Tim Kaine's (D-Va.) resolution.
• A senator could raise a point of order, arguing the resolution is moot because there are no U.S. troops on the ground — giving Hawley and Young an opportunity to flip their votes.
• "Privileged motions have to do with current war activities, and since there aren't any, I don't think this ought to be able to come to the floor," Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told us today.

The bottom line: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

• Republicans are dusting off a procedural tactic Democrats used in 2024 to scuttle a war powers resolution from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to block the Biden administration from building a pier to Gaza.
• Democrats succeeded 48-46.

— Hans Nichols and Stef Kight

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have quickly distanced themselves from Trump's calls to cap credit card rates.

• Johnson suggested Trump "probably had not thought through" how banks might react to such a policy shift. "You've got to be very careful if you go forward in that," Johnson told reporters today.
• Thune said he's not "advocating" for capping credit card rates but conceded the Credit Card Competition Act — cosponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) — would likely get a vote.

Zoom in: Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) jumped to offer to write legislation to back up Trump's other policy proposal of banning big investors from buying single-family homes.

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) spoke to Trump about getting the job done on housing.

— Stef Kight and Kate Santaliz

Rep. Haley Stevens is opening up a two-front war in Michigan, which Minority Leader Chuck Schumer needs to hold if he wants to take back the Senate in 2026.

Why it matters: Stevens' aggressive new strategy will fuel fears among Democrats that a nasty Michigan Senate primary, which isn't until early August, will divide the party.

• She's favored by party leaders but is locked in a close race with state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and progressive doctor Abdul El-Sayed.

Zoom in: "I'm not the one who's calling Michigan manufacturing a dying industry and dreaming about taking cars off the road," Stevens told us of El-Sayed, who has publicly supported the Green New Deal.

• Her campaign pointed to 2019 tweets by El-Sayed that said "climate change is only going to get more expensive to deal w/ ... dying industries" and that a single bus can take several cars "off of the road."
• Stevens also took a shot at McMorrow, alleging, "I ... haven't criticized our manufacturing economy or said that as a state, we've got to focus on something else."
• Her campaign made similar attacks in a memo previewing a more aggressive strategy, which it shared with us.

The other side: El-Sayed spokesperson Roxie Richner said it's "unfortunate to watch a drowning campaign use Fox News talking points in an attempt to stay relevant. Turns out that gobs of corporate money can't buy you a personality or a Senate seat — even if you've paid with your integrity."

• McMorrow spokesperson Hannah Lindow said, "Mallory started her career in car design, and she'll fight for every manufacturing job in our state. Michiganders expect results, not just rhetoric. And too often in recent years, companies have over-promised and under-delivered, using billions in corporate incentives and subsidies."

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— Holly Otterbein