Donald Trump is in Washington today. We won’t hear from the president until 4pm ET, when he welcomes the Inter Miami FC, the 2025 Major League Soccer Champions, to the White House.
We’ll be listening out for the latest lines on the US-Israel war in Iran.
Moderate Democrats plot path to victory by winning the middle
Joe Walsh half jumped out of his seat when discussion at the Third Way conference in Charleston turned to how Democrats sound to voters.
“Tone! My God!” the former Republican congressman shouted. “The Democrats come across as, like, professors, academics, elites. I mean, my God, rip off your freaking sport coat and talk to me! Listen to me like a regular human being.”
Walsh, who left the Republican party last year over Donald Trump, vibrated with the frustration of Democratic operatives and funders and elected officials who had gathered over the weekend in Charleston, South Carolina, to discuss how to win moderate voters. Many were alumni of the Clinton administration, or Biden’s White House, who fear that the provocations of Donald Trump will push candidates to the left, when they believe that progressive policies cost Kamala Harris the 2024 election.
The Democratic National Committee has refused to publicly release its autopsy of the 2024 election, calling it a “distraction” when Democrats appear poised to win big midterm gains. A progressive group, RootsAction, released its postmortem in December, arguing that courting the middle while failing to forcefully admonish the Israeli government for its actions in Gaza turned off liberal and working-class voters, leading to a historic collapse in turnout among those groups.
Moderate activists at the invitation-only conference, titled “Winning the Middle”, also highlighted the loss of support among voters without college degrees and the working class. But they disagree sharply about what caused them to withhold support from Harris, and what it takes to get it back.
More here:
Fetterman on Iran's leadership: 'Just keep killing them until they’re gone'
The Senate vote on a war powers resolution broke down along party lines on Wednesday, 47-53 – John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the sole Democrat to vote against the measure, while Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only member of the Republican majority to support the resolution.
On Wednesday, prior to the vote, Fetterman went on CNN News Central to voice his support of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran and say that this was a situation of “country over party”.
“What I’m trying to establish is that every single senator in the Congress says we should never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. That now has made that possible after that. And now they’ve eliminated this leadership,” Fetterman said. “Now, do you really want those things? Does it really matter? Were you really serious about that? Because if you were, why can’t we just acknowledge – I’m not with all of it – but this was a great development for the region.”
Anchor Kate Bolduan asked Fetterman if he thought the US and Israel were aligned in their war goals, specifically in regards to comments made by Israeli defense minister Israel Katz that “any leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime” would become “an unequivocal target for elimination”.
“Yeah just keep killing them until they’re gone,” Fetterman said. “I mean, absolutely. I’ve read that they’re (Israel is) going to target who they (Iran) ever elect to be their next leader and kill them. Absolutely. I fully support it. So, that’s what’s entirely appropriate.”
When Bolduan pushed further on the issue, asking Fetterman who should decide the leader of Iran, “if you think the United State should take part in taking out every next leader going forward” if the leader doesn’t meet the right measure, he responded by saying he “absolutely” supports killing the leadership of Iran.
“Hey, I’m sorry, I absolutely support killing, you know, the leadership of the Iranian. Absolutely. I absolutely support that,” Fetterman said. “I think that’s entirely appropriate until hopefully they’ll pick someone that realizes that they need to live and coexist in peace in the region and stop trying to destroy Israel and to stabilize the region.”
Updated
Opening summary: House to vote on war powers resolution
Welcome to our coverage of US politics today as the conflict as Iran continues to dominate the agenda.
The House is preparing to vote on Thursday on a war powers resolution that would require Donald Trump to seek congressional permission before continuing the war with Iran – a sign of unease in Congress over the rapidly widening conflict.
It’s the second vote in as many days, after the Senate defeated a similar measure along party lines on Wednesday.
The tally in the House is expected to be tight, but the outcome will provide an early snapshot of the political support, or opposition, to the US-Israel military operation and the president’s rationale for bypassing Congress, which alone has the power to declare war.
“Donald Trump is not a king, and if he believes the war with Iran is in our national interest, then he must come to Congress and make the case,” said Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Meanwhile Republicans are invoking the war in Iran and the prospect of retaliatory terrorist attacks as they tee up votes on Thursday on a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.
The House already approved a DHS spending bill in January, but it faltered in the Senate as Democrats insisted on changes to immigration enforcement operations following the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. As a result, funding for the department lapsed on 14 February.
Republicans are calling on Democrats to reconsider their vote in the wake of the conflict in Iran. Both the House and the Senate are expected to hold votes on the matter.
“The military action in Iran makes it all more urgent and crucial to have a fully funded, fully staffed DHS across all its departments,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.
It appears unlikely this strategy will win over Democrats but stay with us to see how it plays out.
In other news:
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth told Israel to “keep going until the end” on Iran, saying the US stood with the country, in overnight talks with his counterpart, Israel Katz.
The Pentagon has released the names of the final two of the six soldiers who were killed during a recent drone strike in Kuwait. The two soldiers were identified as Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan, 54, and Maj Jeffrey O’Brien, 45. They were from Sacramento, California, and Indianola, Iowa, respectively.
Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana dropped his bid for a third term on Wednesday in a surprise withdrawal just minutes before a filing deadline for candidates. Daines, 63, said in a statement that he wrestled with the decision for months before deciding to retire. Montana US Attorney Kurt Alme entered the race shortly before the state’s deadline for major party candidates. Donald Trump has endorsed Alme and praised Daines.
Former President Barack Obama is promoting a Democratic effort to redraw congressional lines in Virginia, the latest front in a nationwide redistricting battle ahead of this year’s midterm elections. The announcement on Thursday comes a day after the state Supreme Court allowed the redistricting question to go to voters for an April 21 election. Early voting begins Friday.
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