Congress

Congress is absent as Trump threatens Iranians ‘will die’

Published

5 months ago

April 7, 2026

As President Donald Trump threatened death to the “whole civilization” of Iran in a social media post early Tuesday, Rep. Eli Crane was outraged.

“No sane person can think this is okay,” the Arizona Republican wrote on X, an hour after Trump’s message.

But Crane wasn’t talking about the possible eradication of an entire people by a U.S. president. He was talking about a report that women from Turkey flew to Long Island to give birth and sign up for Medicaid.

Crane was among dozens of lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, who published business-as-usual social media updates throughout the day Tuesday. Without acknowledging Trump’s stunning ultimatum, they shared partisan talking points, highlighted constituent meetings or celebrated local sports teams.

Because neither chamber has convened for a full session since March 27, Trump has been free to further push the bounds of GOP loyalty without fear of concentrated pushback — or at least the risk of Republican lawmakers getting asked uncomfortable questions in the Capitol halls.

While many have become practiced at deflecting queries about Trump’s jaw-dropping utterances, most appeared to conclude that the wisest reaction to the presidential threat to eradicate 90 million Iranians was to ignore it altogether.

Instead, it was just another Tuesday as Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) celebrated the Artemis II mission and a home-state visit from NASA’s administrator, Rep, Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) touted a $5 million federal law enforcement grant, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) posted about his day at the annual White House Easter egg roll, and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) took note of the frosty April weather back home.

A spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson declined to comment — though the Louisiana Republican posted about an Uber Eats driver whose “accountant was shocked by how much more money he is keeping thanks to No Tax on Tips.”

The speaker has given no indication he plans to call members back early from recess, which is due to end April 14.

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso also declined to comment, and spokespeople for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer did not respond to requests for comment.

While many Democrats kept posting as though it was just another Tuesday — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz paid tribute to “the amazing women of Red Hat Society of South Florida” and Rep. Frank Pallone posted in praise of the Jersey Shore — top party leaders erupted in outrage.

“This is an extremely sick person,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer quickly posted, while House Democratic leaders called in a joint statement for the House to return “immediately and vote to end this reckless war of choice in the Middle East before Donald Trump plunges our country into World War III.”

“It’s time for House Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and join Democrats in stopping this madness,” they continued.

In a separate joint statement with Schumer, the ranking members of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees called Trump’s threats a “war crime.”

“We speak today with one voice and one purpose: to condemn President Trump’s threat to extinguish an entire civilization,” they added.

Some rank-and-file congressional Democrats went even further, with Rep. Lateefah Simon of California announcing articles of impeachment against Trump.

Democratic Reps. Sarah McBride of Delaware and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — as well as former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once one of Trump’s staunchest allies — were among those calling for the president to be deemed unfit for office and temporarily removed from his post under the 25th Amendment.

One House Republican aired misgivings about Trump’s ultimatum Tuesday afternoon.

“I do not support the destruction of a ‘whole civilization,’” Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) wrote on X. “That is not who we are, and it is not consistent with the principles that have long guided America.”

But most Republicans are instead betting — or fervently hoping — that there will be some breakthrough before Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline, offering an off-ramp short of military annihilation. The threat several Democrats called “unhinged,” these Republicans believe, is just another unorthodox bargaining method.

“It is him negotiating Trump style,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said in a text. “It is reckless words. But, I do want to see the regime buckle and make a true peace. I want to see the Persian civilization flourish but it cannot under the Ayatollahs’ yoke.”

Speaking Tuesday morning, Trump gave no indication he would be backing down. Fox News host Bret Baier, quoting a private conversation with Trump, said, “8 p.m. is happening.”

“If we get to that point,” Trump told Baier. “There is going to be an attack like they have not seen.”

At least one Republican said he is interpreting Trump literally.

“Thank God we have a commander-in-chief that is not full of empty rhetoric because we’ve delayed this inevitability for 50 years,” Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas said on Fox News Tuesday morning.

The No. 3 Senate Republican, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, mentioned Iran in an X post celebrating the rescue of a downed Air Force officer but did not mention Trump’s dire threat.

“This weekend, the United States military once again showed the world what it is capable of,” Cotton said. “I commend our brave troops for completing this dangerous and heroic rescue mission.”

But a Senate GOP account run by Cotton’s team responded more directly: “Iran would be wise to take President Trump at his word.”

“They can choose the easy way or the hard way,” the account said.

Jordain Carney, Cheyanne Daniels and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.

Congress

Convention puts GOP’s reality on display: Midterm policy agenda is skimpy

Published

1 day ago

September 12, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

DALLAS — Republicans used their midterm convention this week to ask voters to preserve their congressional majorities and let them “finish the job.”

But with few consensus legislative goals, it’s far from clear what job they want to finish.

The two-day convention here centered on painting Democrats as an increasingly socialist party that American voters cannot trust with power while highlighting the GOP’s one major victory on Capitol Hill under President Donald Trump’s second term: the year-old tax-cut package known as the “big, beautiful bill.”

In contrast, there was little talk from the podium of what Republicans might seek to pass with a continued trifecta, and members interviewed on the sidelines shared differing visions of what specific legislation the GOP should pursue in the last two years of Trump’s presidency.

The one concrete proposal on offer — Trump’s promise Wednesday of a $5,000 “dividend” for every American adult — blindsided GOP congressional leaders and generated immediate internal dissension.

Asked about his party’s legislative plans, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee said Republicans would “certainly continue the agenda that we’ve done and that we fulfill to the American people.”

“Accentuate all the positives, minimize all the negatives,” said Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, responding to the same question. He added he would like to see “more domestic energy production” and tackling fraud in government programs.

Several others said they want to build on last year’s GOP megabill, pursuing more tax cuts and, echoing Meuser, eliminating wasteful spending in government. Some said they hoped to pursue new health care and immigration policies.

“We’ll continue to work with President Trump, making sure the border stays secure,” Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio said in an interview. “I think we can do more on the tax code, dealing with keeping taxes low for families. Certainly … things cost too much for families. We understand it now.”

Specifics, however, were scarce.

Fleischmann said Republicans have “a good roadmap in place,” but when pressed on what that roadmap entails, he resorted to broad strokes — “to make sure that America stays strong, that defense gets funded, that we make sure that we fulfill our proper domestic obligations.”

Rather than rally around Trump’s promise of $5,000 checks if Republicans are returned to power in Congress, many GOP members — caught by surprise — said they needed more information about the proposal or simply declined to comment. Once mentioned by the president, the proposal was barely mentioned again on the convention stage.

Trump said in a CBS News interview Thursday that he believed he might not need Congress to authorize the dividend checks — a claim some Republicans quickly pushed back on.

The reality is, the narrow House and Senate majorities the GOP now holds have been barely capable of legislating as it is. And while leaders in both chambers play up the possibility of expanding those majorities in November, that would require overcoming historical precedent and many Republicans’ private expectations they will be lucky to hold on to any majority at all.

Both chambers return Monday for what could be a brief pre-election session, with little expectation that serious legislating will get done. House Republicans have sent several partisan bills to the Senate, but they are being blocked by Democratic filibusters. Plans for a new budget reconciliation bill that could skirt Democratic opposition has stalled, meanwhile, due to internal GOP divides.

The lack of action in the Senate has fueled anger from Trump and his loyalists in Congress and in the GOP voter base — much of it trained on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has repeatedly said he simply does not have the votes to eliminate the filibuster and enact the stalled bills.

That has not appeased angry conservatives — Thune was booed at the convention Wednesday — and a continued GOP trifecta would almost certainly continue to be marked by interchamber tensions — even with turnover in the party ranks.

“Given the current dynamic, we have got to have a serious come-to-Jesus conversation with Majority Leader Thune,” Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said at the convention, demanding the Senate “tweak the filibuster rules” and “call the question” on key bills.

Even on an issue where there is general agreement among Republicans that something should be done — such as immigration — internal disagreements have kept the party from acting.

Jordan, for instance, said he would like to codify tough border security policies backed by Trump. But some more moderate Republicans are hoping for a more comprehensive bill that also addresses legal immigration programs, such as those allowing for guest agricultural workers and high-skilled labor.

Meuser is among those wanting a broader bill — one, he said, that is “not amnesty, but a truly comprehensive, smart plan for illegal immigration.”

Speaker Mike Johnson did not mention immigration legislation or any other specific agenda items in his remarks to the convention Thursday. He instead outlined the House’s achievements under Trump and said voters need to stay the course.

“We’ve succeeded in so many ways, but it takes more than just 20 months to fix the total disaster that we were handed and to turn the ship of state around,” he said. “We know the job isn’t finished yet, but we are all in this together.”

Echoing many other convention speakers, Johnson focused on the threats posed by Democrats: “The alternative is to turn the reins over right now to the radical Marxists who are planning to dramatically grow the government, raise your taxes, drive costs through the roof, and rob you of your freedom.”

But some worried that message might not be sufficient — especially after Democrats’ 2024 message focused largely on preventing another Trump presidency rather than pointing to affirmative plans to tackle rising prices and other key voter concerns.

Roy is not on the ballot this fall after losing a primary for Texas attorney general, but he is helping to campaign for other Republicans. He, too, said his message is that GOP candidates “need to be able to finish the job” and cited an “enormous amount of good work” — listing as examples the Laken Riley Act, a small-bore immigration bill that passed early in Trump’s second term, and federal spending cuts embedded in the megabill.

As for the rest of the GOP messaging, Roy added, “Right now, I would argue we’re focused a little bit too much on how crazy they are instead of talking about all the great stuff we’ve done.”

Congress

House sets vote on Russia sanctions bill

Published

2 days ago

September 11, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House lawmakers are set to vote on the sweeping Russia sanctions bill that senators overwhelmingly voted to approve in August, but now faces a tough test in the House where Democrats fear the bill will give President Donald Trump too much tariff power.

The Senate-passed and White House-backed measure is finally getting consideration from the House, after GOP leaders omitted it from their agenda when lawmakers returned from August recess. Many House Democrats — including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — have voiced opposition for fear that it would give Trump expansive and risky new tariff authorities.

House GOP enthusiasm for the measure has also been tepid, after a boost following the sudden death of its champion, Sen. Lindsey Graham, wore off.

The House Rules Committee scheduled a meeting to consider the bill Monday afternoon.

Advocates of the legislation argue the bill would give Trump the tools he needs to pressure Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the war on Ukraine. The bill would issue mandatory sanctions on Russian leadership and its energy sector — as well as collaborators in Moscow’s defense industry and so-called shadow fleet.

But it would also give Trump the ability to hit top buyers of Russian oil with 100% tariffs, a move that Democrats say is dangerous given the White House’s eagerness to slap tariffs on U.S. friends and foes alike.

“Donald Trump already has ample authority to impose sanctions on the companies, individuals, and vessels propping up a Russian war machine that continues its deadly attacks on Ukraine,” Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) wrote in a joint statement with Democratic Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia and Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) earlier this month. “Congress does not need to greenlight new tariff authority for the President to impose those sanctions on Russia today.”

Backers of the bill were quick to encourage its passage after the vote was announced on Friday.

“Great news that the House will vote on the much-needed Russia sanctions bill,” Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) wrote on social media. “Ukrainian civilians continue to be killed by Putin’s war machine, and this bill hits the Kremlin’s coffers hard. Now is the time to pass it and force Putin to the negotiating table.”

The measure passed in an 86-11 vote in the Senate in August.

Congress

House eyes Tuesday vote on bill to curb data center costs

Published

2 days ago

September 11, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House GOP leaders have picked Tuesday as the day to vote on legislation intended to shield Americans from the potential costs associated with the data center boom, according to two people granted anonymity to share private scheduling plans.

The upcoming floor action comes after a healthy number of vulnerable Republicans signed onto the measure in recent days, a sign that fears about the issue’s political volatility ahead of the midterms are continuing to grow as voters complain about rising energy prices as a result of data center proliferation.

The bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act, which aims to compel tech companies to pay for the infrastructure associated with data center development, passed unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee this summer. Senior Republicans, however, said last week they were still weighing whether to bring the bill to the floor before the House recesses until after the November elections.

The decision to proceed this coming week signals that pressure has been building on leaders to act, underscored by the at least five House GOP frontliners who have signed on as cosponsors since September 1: Reps. Bill Huizenga and Tom Barrett of Michigan, David Valadao of California, Jen Kiggans of Virginia and Mónica de la Cruz of Texas.

Valadao, in an interview a week before he signed on as a cosponsor, called such measures “fine” but balked at the idea House Democratic leaders were trying to politicize data centers right before an election.

“Obviously it has to be addressed — making sure that we’re protecting our natural resources like water in my district,” he said. “Obviously, with California and their regulatory process, they’ve made energy more expensive than anywhere else in the country. So those are major concerns that need to be addressed, and I think those pieces of legislation will make sense.”

But, he added, allowing Democrats “to turn this into a political issue, I would say, is pretty irresponsible.”

The total number of cosponsors on the bill, championed by Reps. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), to 42 Democrats and Republicans combined.

The Tuesday vote will take place under an expedited procedure that requires a two-thirds majority of those present and voting to secure passage.

Mia McCarthy and Amelia Davidson contributed to this report.