This week: Iran war powers, DHS funding top congressional agenda

Niels Lesniewski, CQ-Roll Call on Mar 2, 2026

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WASHINGTON — It’s once again a war powers week on Capitol Hill, with both chambers poised to vote on efforts to halt the U.S. military action against Iran without congressional authorization.

Both the House and Senate were already expected to take up war powers resolutions this week, but since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran over the weekend, the votes have taken on new urgency.

All senators are scheduled to get an Iran briefing on Tuesday from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

A briefing for the House is scheduled later the same day, but there are no roll call votes scheduled in the House on Tuesday

Rubio and the other briefers are sure to face questions about what’s next for leadership in Iran following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. President Donald Trump told ABC News on Sunday, “The attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates” to lead the country.

“It’s not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead,” Trump said.

The briefings will come ahead of floor action on the war powers measures in both chambers, with the Senate acting as early as Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

Many Democrats on Sunday criticized Trump for the strikes.

“The president has made no case to the American people. He sought no authorization from Congress,” Sen. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“One thing is certainly true, though: The president broke his promise to the American people of no more regime-change wars,” Schiff said. “He broke his promise to focus on bringing down the cost for American families. There’s nothing in this action that’s going to improve the lives of Americans.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said he has “no desire” for a vote on the Iran strikes.

“I think the War Powers Act is unconstitutional,” Graham said. “This is a military operation designed to eliminate threats that have existed against our country.”

A House vote appears to be most likely on Thursday.

The Senate’s regularly scheduled floor business is consideration of a bipartisan housing bill, which could take two weeks of floor time to clear procedural hurdles.

The Senate will vote Monday on whether to end debate on the motion to proceed to a House-passed housing bill that is expected to be the vehicle for the Senate version, which the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee approved last summer.

House brings back DHS debate

With the Department of Homeland Security still partially shut down, House Republicans plan to call up an updated DHS funding bill this week.

“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,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., posted on X. “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.”

The appropriations bill is the only one of the 12 fiscal 2026 measures that has not become law. House and Senate Democrats have opposed the funding without changes to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement operations, and the White House has rejected the proposed changes.

The earlier House-passed DHS measure is currently stalled in the Senate, Senate Republican leaders’ decision to move on to the housing bill suggests there may be no quick resolution.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday morning for an oversight hearing. The House Judiciary Committee will hear from Noem on Wednesday.

Some other agenda items that were expected to be set up for the House floor this week were delayed, but the House may still vote on a balanced-budget constitutional amendment.

The amendment is set to be considered under suspension of the rules, an expedited process that requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass. Under Article V of the Constitution, the two-thirds vote is required anyway for Congress to propose constitutional amendments.

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Savannah Behrmann and David Lerman contributed to this report.