House Democrats intend to call up a war powers resolution as soon as lawmakers return next week after President Donald Trump threatened that Iranian "civilization will die" and then ended the day proclaiming a two-week cease fire and a path toward an end to the war, according to POLITICO. The whole spectacle shows the usual arrangement: one man at the top rattles the world, and everyone else in Congress scrambles to decide how much of his power they are willing to tolerate. **Who Gets to Decide on War** The newsletter said the move comes as Democrats are more eager than ever to rein Trump in, while Republicans are ambivalent at best about Trump's saber-rattling approach. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a CNN interview Tuesday night that House Democrats intend to call up the resolution as soon as lawmakers return next week. Jeffries has shored up support among his own ranks, and Democrats are working to convince at least two Republicans to join them in curbing Trump's authority in Iran. Most Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, kept quiet on Trump's threat to attack 93 million Iranians. A few Republicans aired concerns, including Rep. Nathaniel Moran, who said on X, "I do not support the destruction of a 'whole civilization'. That is not who we are, and it is not consistent with the principles that have long guided America." The language is dramatic, but the structure stays the same: the powerful argue over how openly to exercise power, while the people named in the threat are reduced to a number. **The Party-Line Machinery Keeps Grinding** Johnson and Thune will argue that Trump needs complete flexibility and maximum leverage as he pursues negotiations with the Iranian regime. The announcement that oil and other commodities could soon be flowing through the Strait of Hormuz could help them make the sale to GOP members nervous about rising gas prices and falling poll numbers. That is the real currency in the room: leverage, flexibility, and the fear of prices and polls. POLITICO said Trump’s U-turn might have taken the bite out of renewed calls from some members for impeachment and removal under the 25th Amendment, but party leaders are bullish about putting Republican lawmakers on the record as Day 40 of the war draws closer. A war powers vote might only be a prelude to a potential vote on defense funding, with Trump himself floating a $350 billion request, that could come even closer to the midterms. The machinery of oversight is being offered up as a stage, while the larger war apparatus keeps its options open. **The Rest of the Hill Is Busy Protecting Itself** The newsletter also said Trump meets with NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House, and quoted Sen. Mitch McConnell as saying, "Close consultation with allies doesn’t constrain our action to secure our interests; it enhances it." That line says the quiet part out loud: consultation is not restraint, just another way to package state power. In the same edition, POLITICO said the gulf is widening between Republicans as they suss out what to include in a new party-line spending bill. House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington said Tuesday he wants to help pay for Republicans' reconciliation plans by putting new limits on the earned income tax credit and the low-income housing tax credit. Arrington said on Fox Business, "We don’t have safeguards to prevent illegal immigrants from availing themselves of that tax-funded social welfare program." The House Freedom Caucus urged Republicans to use reconciliation to fund all of DHS for the rest of Trump's term, posting on X, "We can fund DHS for the rest of the President’s term to ensure Democrats can never again take our nation’s security hostage." POLITICO also reported that House Oversight and Government Reform Chair James Comer told Hailey Fuchs, "No more bailouts," and, "You’re going to have to figure it out. You’re going to have to stop the bleeding," in response to Postal Service pleas. Postmaster General David Steiner told a House Oversight subcommittee last month that USPS needs additional legislative intervention to survive beyond another year. American Postal Workers Union president Jonathan Smith said, "Postal workers process and sort mail. It’s not our role to look at the documents inside a sealed envelope." The newsletter also said Virginia Rep. Eugene Vindman sent a letter Tuesday to Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan demanding more transparency about military-related bets, and Vindman said, "It is not only corrupt, immoral, and unethical, but it creates dangerous incentives for leaders to authorize military actions in order to line their own pockets," and, "I will work to ensure the individuals placing bets on insider or classified information that endanger our national security are brought to justice." Vindman said Polymarket must "secure, preserve, and share with Congress all information related to bets placed on national security matters," including bank accounts and wallets, by April 21.
