WASHINGTON – Congress has a growing to-do list this year, from housing reform to reopening the Department of Homeland Security to passing a farm bill.
President Donald Trump's newly launched war with Iran just overshadowed all of it.
Although it's unlikely lawmakers will fully rebuke the United States' joint attacks with Israel against the Islamic Republic, the major foreign policy shift has already set up one of the biggest political tests for Congress of Trump's second term – during a crucial period that could arguably be his last chance to pass more sweeping laws affecting Americans' lives.
By sucking up all the political oxygen in DC and consuming lawmakers’ time, the historic conflict is already threatening to preoccupy Capitol Hill ahead of the midterms, which many predict could hand Democrats back the House of Representatives, deadlocking Congress until 2028.
And it will be another complex Trump loyalty experiment for GOP lawmakers, many of whom ran for office on an anti-interventionist agenda and promises of staying out of potential forever wars in the Middle East.
