Day of Rare Defiance Looms for Congress, if Willing, on Thursday

Congress has a chance this week to do something increasingly rare: Show some independence.

Several votes Thursday in the House and Senate will, in one day, line up opportunities for lawmakers to defy or rein in President Donald Trump, who for much of his second term has bulldozed the Republican-led Congress.

The day is expected to bring House votes to override two vetoes from the president. There’s also a planned House vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies, a move forced by Democrats and four Republicans who defied GOP leadership.

Across the Capitol the Senate is scheduled to vote on a Democratic resolution to limit further military action in Venezuela, hoping to block Trump from expanding his push abroad.

The votes present an unusual moment of potential defiance in a Congress that has almost entirely bowed to Trump’s aggressive approach. They also come amid signs late last year that the president’s dominance has slipped, most notably when lawmakers defied him to force the release of federal files related to convicted sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein. Congress is also pushing forward this month with a spending package after Trump imposed himself on lawmakers’ traditional control of federal purse strings last year.

Still, overall the votes appear to be relatively limited efforts to assert Congress’ prerogatives.

On graver matters in which Congress is supposed to have a say—over war and federal spending—Capitol Hill has still been largely subservient. Saturday’s raid in Venezuela, without consultation with Congress, was the latest example.

“There’s nothing in these votes that are coming up that point to any sort of tectonic shifts in presidential-congressional relations,” said William Howell, an expert on separation of powers issues and dean of the School of Government and Policy at Johns Hopkins University.

Instead, he said the votes Thursday are largely “discreet issues that matter a bunch to a handful of legislators.”

“What you’re seeing with some of these bills is a reemergence of those facts that are just standard features of presidential-congressional relations,” said Howell, author of Trajectory of Power: The Rise of the Strongman Presidency. “No matter who’s in charge, the president doesn’t always get his way.”

War Powers

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) sees the vote on war powers as test of Congress’ authority.

Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Bloomberg

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the sponsor of the war powers resolution, presented his measure as a chance to show that Congress still matters. It aims to restrict further military action in Venezuela without lawmakers’ approval.

“Are you relevant or irrelevant? Do you want to admit that Congress has no role in this?” he asked.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) warned that Trump will keep pushing aggressive action overseas “unless Congress gets a spine and starts stepping up and doing their constitutional duty.”

Democrats plan to keep forcing votes on war powers as the Trump administration makes threats against other countries including Greenland, Cuba, and Colombia. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) announced plans Tuesday for a resolution to bar an invasion of Greenland.

But Thursday’s resolution on Venezuela is likely to fail.

Senate Republicans blocked a similar proposal in November, and have largely supported the raid in Caracas, arguing that Trump took swift, effective action that deposed a dictator and makes the US safer without committing to keeping troops on the ground.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called the operation “a decisive and justified action” praising Trump for “putting Americans first and succeeding where others have failed.”

Congressional Complexity

The other measures—on the ACA and veto overrides—appear to have good chances of clearing the House.

The veto overrides concern bills Trump nixed—led by GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colo.) and Carlos Giménez (Fla.)—that aim to bring fresh water to Colorado and add protections to land occupied by the Miccosukee Tribe.

Both measures advanced without opposition in the House and Senate last year.

“This isn’t over,” Boebert posted on X after Trump vetoed her legislation last week. Gimenez’s office did not respond to requests for comment on how he’ll vote on the veto override.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said she backs overriding Trump on land bill important to her state.

Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Overriding either of Trump’s vetoes would be a rare act of rebellion against the president. Congress has only overturned six presidential vetoes since 2001: four under former President George W. Bush (R), one under former President Barack Obama (D), and one in Trump’s first term, when he vetoed 10 measures.

All his vetoes in that term were on bills led by a Democrat or independent who caucuses with Democrats, according to Senate records.

The vote on expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies comes after months of debate on the aid, which ended on Dec. 31 and helped millions of people purchase health insurance through law. It has become a political flashpoint, pushing four Republicans to break with GOP leaders and sign onto a discharge petition to force a vote on extending the subsidies for three years.

Their support meant that a majority of House members backed the petition, suggesting the vote is also likely to succeed.

But the fates of the vetoes and ACA subsidies remains unclear in the Senate.

Senate Republicans rejected the ACA extension in December and appear sure to do so again, even as they continue negotiations for a different solution.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he thinks the Senate would vote on the veto overrides if they succeed in the House, but he didn’t know what the outcome would be in the upper chamber.

The winding path for both measures and competing interests among Congress’ 535 lawmakers demonstrate why it’s often hard for the legislative body to stand up to the singular power of the White House.