Welcome back to Capitol Hill, everyone. The Senate returns this evening, the House comes back Tuesday night.
It’s been an eventful two-week recess, to say the least. U.S.-Iranian peace talks in Pakistan collapsed over the weekend, and President Donald Trump announced he wanted to blockade the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the diplomatic setback.
U.S. Central Command said Sunday that the naval blockade will cover “all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. [ET].” Ships heading to “non-Iranian ports” won’t be stopped. Oil is back above $100 per barrel, and Trump warned that gas prices could remain high through November. There may be House and Senate war powers votes on Iran this week too.
Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer face a number of tricky decisions they’ll have to make very quickly. The shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security is on Day 58.
Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (Calif.) gubernatorial bid imploded amid a torrent of accusations of sexual assault and improper behavior. Even though he’s dropped out of the race, Swalwell still may face an expulsion vote very soon, perhaps as early as this week. So could Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.). More on this below.
Let’s start with the Senate.
Senate Republican leaders feel like they’re in a good position as they embark on a budget reconciliation effort to fund ICE and CBP for multiple years. As we reported Friday, Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Majority Whip John Barrasso secured Trump’s buy-in for the plan, which is to keep it narrowly focused on ICE and CBP.
This week will be crucial as Senate GOP leaders meet with rank-and-file Republican senators about the plan. There’s widespread frustration within the Senate GOP leadership about House Republicans delaying re-opening DHS and conditioning it on the Senate’s reconciliation progress.
The Senate GOP leadership’s tentative plan is to have a budget resolution ready for floor action as soon as next week, although a number of factors could delay that.
The Senate also will resume floor debate on the SAVE America Act. Thune will need to decide when to cut it off given the lack of GOP support for the so-called “talking filibuster.” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and other conservatives are continuing to pressure Thune to keep the floor debate going.
Separately, Senate Democrats are planning to force another Iran war powers vote this week. Keep an eye out for potential GOP defections, especially Republican senators who said they hoped the conflict wouldn’t drag out.
The Senate’s progress on reconciliation will dictate how quickly Johnson can move to re-open DHS. If Senate Republicans can advance their reconciliation bill, Johnson will be able to make the case that the ICE-and-CBP only reconciliation plan is proceeding as envisioned and it’s time to end the shutdown. If not, Johnson may have to continue to placate the House Republican Conference by continuing to refuse to move a DHS funding bill.
But most important for Johnson is reauthorizing FISA, which expires next week.The speaker is a member of the Gang of Eight and understands that the Section 702 program is key to U.S. surveillance operations. The White House is pushing for a clean 18-month extension of the program.
However, Johnson has a conference to manage as well, and there are a lot of opinions about FISA. A group of House Republicans — mainly hardline conservatives — are demanding Johnson allow amendments to institute warrant requirements for FISA investigations. There are others who want the SAVE America Act attached to any FISA reauthorization.
Johnson’s aim is to deny all amendments. He has an out on SAVE, which is that Trump and the White House have acknowledged that elements of SAVE should be included in any third reconciliation package. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), once the chief proponent of reforming FISA, has dropped those demands.
Johnson has decided that he’ll put FISA on the floor under a rule. That means the speaker has to get the rule through the House Rules Committee. If the Rules panel is going to forbid amendments, then Johnson is going to be walking a very tight rope.
Going through Rules brings into play several wild cards for Johnson. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) is in the middle of an attorney general campaign in Texas, while Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) is running for governor of South Carolina. Johnson can lose those two, but he can’t lose anyone else. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) is also someone to watch.
Then getting the rule through the floor leaves very little room to maneuver. Democrats typically don’t vote for rules — unless they get something in return. Johnson will have a two-vote margin once Rep.-elect Clay Fuller (R-Ga.) is sworn in.
The House Republican leadership is going to be looking to the White House to help on FISA every step of the way.
Here’s some news: Senate Leadership Fund and One Nation, the two related Senate Republican money groups, raised $115 million in the first quarter of 2026. Thune and the SLF team have raked in $300 million overall this cycle.
SLF, the super PAC, raised $72 million. And One Nation, the non-profit, raised $43 million. One Nation transferred $11 million to SLF. SLF will report $167 million cash on hand.
Senate out. Alex Nguyen, Schumer’s communications director, is leaving Capitol Hill to become a director of corporate communications for Salesforce. Nguyen has spent 17 years in total on Capitol Hill, the last seven with Schumer.
Ally Biasotti, a longtime Schumer communications staffer, will take over. Biasotti has served as Schumer’s national press secretary since 2022.
