Congress Returns to Address Iran War Powers, Record DHS Shutdown, and Member Scandals

2026-04-13

The BareStory

Congress returns from a two-week recess this week to a crowded legislative agenda dominated by foreign policy, government funding, and internal discipline. Abroad, a six-week-old war with Iran continues as U.S. Central Command announced that U.S. forces will begin a maritime blockade of Iranian ports. In response, Democrats in both the House and Senate plan to force votes on war powers resolutions aimed at terminating the unauthorized use of military force against Iran.

Domestically, lawmakers confront a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that is entering its third month, making it the longest such shutdown in U.S. history. House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to delay a Senate-approved funding bill to end the shutdown while the Senate works to advance a separate budget reconciliation measure. Johnson is also seeking a clean extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act's Section 702 before it expires on April 20, though conservative hard-liners are demanding amendments to restrict citizen surveillance.

While Republican leaders and President Donald Trump plan to spend the week promoting recent tax cut legislation ahead of Tax Day, multiple ethics scandals are complicating the schedule. Several lawmakers face bipartisan pushes for expulsion over various allegations. Representative Eric Swalwell faces expulsion demands over allegations of sexual assault, while Representative Tony Gonzales faces similar pressure after admitting to an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. Representative Anna Paulina Luna has stated she plans to pair expulsion resolutions for both men. Additionally, lawmakers are targeting Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick over alleged financial violations and Representative Cory Mills over separate misconduct allegations.

Left Perspective

Reclaim Congressional War Powers
Shield Civil Liberties First
Purge Institutional Moral Rot

Right Perspective

Project Unyielding Strategic Deterrence
Preserve Critical Security Infrastructure
Maintain Policy Over Personality

Left Perspective

• Reclaim Congressional War Powers Prioritizing constitutional checks and balances, this camp views the unauthorized six-week war and the new maritime blockade of Iranian ports as a dangerous escalation of unchecked executive power. The Democratic push to force votes on war powers resolutions is driven by a necessity to assert legislative authority over military action. For this framework, failing to terminate the unauthorized use of force effectively surrenders the public's right to democratic consent in matters of international conflict.

• Shield Civil Liberties First Valuing civil rights over expansive state surveillance, the looming expiration of FISA Section 702 presents a critical opportunity to check the federal intelligence apparatus. Resisting Speaker Mike Johnson’s push for a "clean extension," this camp aligns with demanding strict amendments to curtail warrantless citizen surveillance. They view holding the line on these civil liberty protections as a higher priority than rapidly resolving the record-breaking, three-month DHS shutdown via unamended establishment bills.

• Purge Institutional Moral Rot Viewing democratic integrity as paramount, this side interprets the wave of bipartisan expulsion pushes against lawmakers as a necessary cleansing of institutional corruption. Confronting severe allegations—ranging from sexual assault by Representative Swalwell to financial violations by Representative Cherfilus-McCormick—is seen as essential to restoring public trust in government. They view the GOP and Donald Trump's concurrent focus on promoting tax cuts as a diversionary tactic that ignores the urgent need to enforce basic ethical standards within Congress.

Right Perspective

• Project Unyielding Strategic Deterrence Valuing national security and decisive action, this camp views CENTCOM's maritime blockade of Iran as a necessary assertion of power to contain a volatile adversary. They interpret the Democratic war powers resolutions as a fundamental threat to executive agility and military effectiveness. In this logic, legislative micromanagement during an active six-week conflict undermines the military's strategic posture and signals fatal weakness to foreign adversaries who capitalize on domestic political division.

• Preserve Critical Security Infrastructure Prioritizing institutional continuity and intelligence gathering, a "clean extension" of FISA Section 702 is viewed as vital to maintaining the nation's defensive capabilities without interruption. This framework justifies navigating the complex politics of the record-long DHS shutdown—including Speaker Johnson delaying the Senate funding bill to advance a separate reconciliation measure—as a necessary maneuver to fund the government on conservative terms. They fear that attaching restrictive surveillance amendments will neuter the very intelligence tools required to keep the homeland secure.

• Maintain Policy Over Personality Believing that economic prosperity and legislative achievements are the true metrics of successful governance, this camp prioritizes the promotion of recent tax cuts ahead of Tax Day. While acknowledging the severity of the scandals involving Representatives Gonzales, Mills, and others, this logic warns against allowing individual ethical failures to paralyze the institution. They view the prospect of paired expulsion resolutions, such as those proposed by Representative Luna, as procedural chaos that threatens to derail the broader economic agenda and destabilize the House majority.

How it may affect me

As a U.S. reader:

• In the long term, the continuing six-week military conflict with Iran and the new maritime blockade will affect national security, and upcoming congressional votes will determine if legislative limits are placed on this executive military action.

• In the short term, the ongoing, record-breaking partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security will continue to disrupt domestic security operations as lawmakers delay funding bills to negotiate conservative budget measures.

• The impending April 20 expiration of FISA Section 702 directly affects civil liberties and privacy, as Congress must decide whether to amend the law to restrict warrantless citizen surveillance or pass a clean extension to maintain uninterrupted intelligence gathering.

• The potential expulsion of multiple congressional representatives over severe misconduct allegations could leave some citizens unrepresented and threatens to destabilize the House majority, which may derail broader economic policies and tax legislation intended for the public.

Congress Returns to Address Iran War Powers, Record DHS Shutdown, and Member Scandals

The BareStory

Left Perspective

Right Perspective

How it may affect me

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