{"id":21247,"date":"2026-04-13T12:16:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T12:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/capitol-agenda-scandals-and-iran-overshadow-gop-tax-pitch\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:16:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T12:16:52","slug":"capitol-agenda-scandals-and-iran-overshadow-gop-tax-pitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/capitol-agenda-scandals-and-iran-overshadow-gop-tax-pitch\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol agenda: Scandals and Iran overshadow GOP tax pitch"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Congress is back and Republicans just want to talk up the pocketbook benefits of last year\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d ahead of Tax Day this week.<\/p>\n

But complicating that election-year message<\/a> are a host of pressing scandals, the threat of further oil price spikes from the Iran war, the record-setting DHS shutdown and other GOP policy squabbles.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to watch as Congress returns:<\/p>\n

\u2014 TAX TALK:<\/b> House Republicans are planning a Wednesday all-member news conference to promote tax cuts from last year\u2019s megabill. President Donald Trump is set to take the message to Nevada and Arizona this week.<\/p>\n

\u2014 EXPULSION FEVER:<\/b> House leaders are facing a bipartisan outcry to expel members accused of personal misconduct.<\/p>\n

The group includes Rep. Eric Swalwell, who abandoned his California gubernatorial run Sunday night and is under pressure to resign from office after sexual assault and misconduct allegations, and Rep. Tony Gonzales, who admitted to an affair with a staffer<\/a> who later died by suicide. Members are also targeting Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick for alleged campaign finance violations<\/a> and Cory Mills for a range of allegations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna told us Sunday she wants to pair up a resolution to expel Swalwell and Gonzales. But one of the reasons GOP leaders have been hesitant to push Gonzales to resign is his seat is more competitive now.<\/p>\n

\u2014 IRAN WAR:<\/b> Republicans are increasingly worried about explaining away rising gas prices and spiking inflation. There’s little hope global energy flows will return to normal soon as Trump plans a blockade<\/a> of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

Both chambers this week will likely debate and vote on Democratic-led war powers resolutions. The White House is taking steps to ensure GOP loyalty, as some Republicans who\u2019ve been supportive of the war begin to raise doubts.<\/p>\n

\u2014 POLICY BATTLES:<\/b> The Senate is set to restart debate on the SAVE America Act, the sweeping elections bill<\/a> most Republican members don\u2019t think can pass. And the party still faces an internal fight over how to end the DHS shutdown that\u2019s entering its third month.<\/p>\n

The House GOP doesn\u2019t intend to move forward on the Senate-approved DHS<\/a> funding bill this week and will instead wait until the Senate makes progress on its budget reconciliation bill, according to four people granted anonymity to describe private plans. But making progress<\/a> on that reconciliation bill is rife with its own complications.<\/p>\n

Speaker Mike Johnson also needs to find a way to renew the Section 702 spy powers law before it expires April 20. He\u2019s planning to put a straight extension on the floor this week, but has yet to secure hard-liners who want to vote on amendments aimed at establishing protections from government surveillance.<\/p>\n

What else we’re watching:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014Jacobs wants leadership post<\/b>: Rep. Sara Jacobs plans to run for vice chair of the Democratic caucus next term, a source granted anonymity to discuss her thinking tells Riley Rogerson. Jacobs, 37, has already talked with most House Democrats about her plan.<\/p>\n

\u2014A big week of approps hearings<\/b>: Trump administration officials are set to face questions about the Iran war and the DHS shutdown at a series of House Appropriations subcommittee hearings this week. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is likely to be pressed Wednesday by members of the Interior-Environment panel about the Strait of Hormuz and energy costs. The Homeland Security subcommittee hears Thursday morning from Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons and Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow. <\/p>\n

Meredith Lee Hill and Riley Rogerson contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congress is back and Republicans just want to talk up the pocketbook benefits of last year\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d ahead of Tax Day this week. But complicating that election-year message are a host of pressing scandals, the threat of further oil price spikes from the Iran war, the record-setting DHS shutdown and other GOP policy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21247\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}