Centrist Dems Buck Jeffries, Offer Trump 30-Day Clock To Wage Iran Conflict
Six House Democrats are going against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and introducing different legislation that would give President Donald Trump 30 days to deal with the situation in Iran before he has to ask Congress for permission to use military force.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) is putting forward a war powers resolution that would give Trump “30 days to make the case to Congress [and the] American people for military action in Iran or end the operation.” Trump has said that the operation in Iran is “ahead of schedule” and will probably last four to five weeks.
“Iran is actively firing drones and ballistic missiles at U.S. troops, our embassies, allies, and is targeting civilians across the region,” Gottheimer wrote on X. “This new Democratic War Powers Resolution will uphold Congress’s constitutional authority — while also ensuring the U.S. can defend our troops, embassies, and allies from Iranian aggression. We must protect our troops and allies.”
Democratic lawmakers who support Gottheimer’s resolution are Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Jared Golden (D-ME), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Jim Costa (D-CA), and Greg Landsman (D-OH) are all Democrats. The resolution is a break with Jeffries.
The leader of the minority party backs a broad war powers resolution led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA). The two’s bill would force Trump to stop the U.S. military from fighting Iran unless Congress votes to allow it.
The Gottheimer resolution stipulates that Trump can’t send ground troops into Iran without congressional authorization, “except for search and rescue missions.” It requires the administration to brief Congress on the “goals, objectives, and timeline of major military action.”
The bill also includes a provision, according to Gottheimer, saying the United States maintains the “right to defend itself, our armed forces, embassies, and allies from Iranian attacks.”
It addresses what Republicans and even Democrats like Landsman saw as deficiencies in the version drafted by Massie and Khanna.
“I don’t support the resolution, which would require us to completely abandon our allies. It calls for the immediate removal of defensive weapons in the region,” Landsman told the Washington Examiner last week. “The Administration returned to the practice of notifying Congress of a strike with Rubio briefing the Gang of 8 last week. The strikes are an attempt to prevent further war, not to start one.”
Despite the concerns, Jeffries and Democratic leadership have pushed for a vote on the Massie-Khanna bill this week.
Jeffries said on Tuesday during a press conference that “there is going to be very strong Democratic support” for the Massie and Khanna measure. When asked by reporters, the minority leader said he hadn’t seen Gottheimer’s alternative proposal.
Jeffries recently came under fire for saying the U.S. strikes on Iran are “not going to end well” for the American people and that more Americans will come home in body bags, comments which did not sit well with many.
“Article 1 of the Constitution explicitly provides Congress with the authority to declare war, period, full stop. And the framers of the Constitution made that decision because they were concerned about kings throughout time getting their people into unnecessary wars, impoverishing them or imperiling their very well-being by sending them off to a foreign conflict. And that’s why the power was given explicitly to the House and to the Senate,” Jeffries said during an interview on CNN.
“And Donald Trump chose intentionally not to come before Congress, which is why we’re going to force this vote on a war powers resolution and make sure that we do everything we can to constrain him at this point in time,” the New York Democrat added.
IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE — Nightmare Brewing for Hakeem Jeffries as He Could Be OUT After Facing Heat From Dems...
Washington, D.C. - June 3, 2026
Hakeem Jeffries Encounters Growing Reluctance from Democratic Candidates to Back His Leadership
Washington, D.C. — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is facing increasing resistance from Democratic candidates who are declining to commit to supporting his leadership if the party regains the House majority in November.
A significant number of viable Democratic challengers have indicated to Axios that voting for Jeffries as speaker would not be automatic. Last fall, more than 80 Democratic House candidates expressed uncertainty or outright opposition to his continued leadership. The situation has worsened in recent months.
Mai Vang, a progressive primary challenger to Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), previously offered a noncommittal response about supporting whoever her future colleagues choose. In a more recent statement, she directly criticized Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“The Democratic Party and its leadership—Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries—have failed to mobilize meaningful opposition to Trump’s illegal war and their silence as AIPAC and corporations flood Congressional primaries with millions of dollars is deafening,” Vang said.
Claire Valdez, a New York State Assembly member running to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), told Axios that supporting Jeffries would require “some conversations” first.
Other candidates have proposed alternatives. Anabel Mendoza, a progressive running in Illinois’ 7th District, said she would prefer Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) in the leadership role because she is “10 toes down on what matters.”
Some candidates noted that conversations about Jeffries’ future would likely change significantly if Democrats fail to win the House.
Jeffries is also confronting a sharply deteriorating redistricting environment. After initial Democratic optimism following a Virginia referendum victory aimed at gaining up to four seats, recent legal and political developments have turned against the party. In a worst-case scenario, Democrats could lose as many as 10 seats due to aggressive Republican redistricting and court rulings.
Florida Republicans advanced a congressional map that could eliminate up to four Democratic seats, surprising even some GOP observers. Virginia’s Supreme Court has signaled it may overturn the Democrats’ hard-won referendum win. The Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais has created new opportunities for Republicans in several Southern states.
In Tennessee, GOP lawmakers have circulated a map targeting Rep. Steve Cohen’s Memphis seat. Louisiana Republicans are positioned to reduce Democratic representation in the state. Alabama officials are seeking to lift an injunction protecting the current map. South Carolina is considering a map that would eliminate Rep. Jim Clyburn’s deeply blue seat. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has expressed interest in challenging Rep. Bennie Thompson.
While some maps remain subject to legal challenges and Democrats hope to compete in certain districts, the overall trajectory has shifted against the party. The combination of internal leadership doubts and unfavorable redistricting has created substantial uncertainty for Jeffries and House Democrats heading into the midterms.
Iranian State TV Announces Death Of Khamenei’s Wife After US Israeli Airstrike
Iranian state television presenters announced the death of Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, the 79-year-old wife of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after she succumbed to injuries sustained in the same US-Israeli airstrike that killed her husband at his compound in Tehran.
She died two days after Khamenei was killed, The Wall Street Journal reported. State television declared that Bagherzadeh’s “long dream of martyrdom became true” and said her death would spark “a massive uprising in the fight against oppressors.”
The announcement followed an earlier broadcast in which an anchor tearfully reported the Supreme Leader’s death. Iran declared an official 40-day mourning period and a seven-day national holiday.
According to the Daily Mail, Bagherzadeh married Khamenei in 1965. They had four sons and two daughters.
In a 2011 interview with state media, she described her role as maintaining a calm home environment so her husband could work in peace.
“I think my biggest role was to preserve a calm atmosphere in our home so that he could do his work in peace,” she said.
She also said she visited him in prison without burdening him with family problems and “would only give him good news.”
She acknowledged distributing pamphlets, carrying messages, and hiding documents during the revolutionary period but described those efforts as “not worth mentioning.”
Her death comes amid escalating military exchanges between Iran and US-Israeli forces.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society said at least 555 people have been killed across Iran in the campaign, with more than 130 cities coming under attack.
Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, condemned the strikes as “unlawful, criminal and brutal” and alleged that the Natanz nuclear enrichment site was targeted.
“Their justification that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons is simply a big lie,” Najafi told journalists.
Ali Larijani, a senior Iranian security official, wrote on X that “we will not negotiate with the United States.”
Iran is believed to have launched multiple retaliatory attacks across the region.
An attack reportedly struck the American embassy compound in Kuwait City, though there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Kuwaiti air defenses mistakenly shot down three American F 15E Strike Eagles.
US Central Command confirmed that all six aircrew ejected safely, were recovered, and are in stable condition.
A pro-Iranian militia in Iraq launched attacks targeting Irbil and a British base in Cyprus. Officials in Oman said a drone boat struck an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman near Muscat, killing one mariner.
Saudi Aramco temporarily shut down its Ras Tanura oil refinery near Dammam after Iranian drones targeted it.
Saudi state television described the shutdown as “a precautionary one.”
Officials reported 11 people killed in Israel and 31 in Lebanon during the exchanges.
Iran’s combat fleet was engaged in the conflict for the first time.
Iranian officials have framed Bagherzadeh’s death as an act of martyrdom as the country enters a prolonged mourning period.
The conflict continues to evolve as regional tensions remain high.
A senior White House official stated on Sunday that Iran’s “new potential leadership” has indicated a willingness to engage in talks with the United States. This announcement follows a significant military operation by American and Israeli forces, which resulted in the deaths of Iran’s supreme leader and several high-ranking officials, according to Fox News.
The official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal administration matters, mentioned that President Donald Trump is “eventually” open to negotiations, but for the time being, the military operation “continues unabated.” The official did not specify who the potential new leaders of Iran are or how they expressed their willingness to negotiate.
Trump told The Atlantic on Sunday that he planned to speak with Iran’s new leadership.
“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” he said, declining comment on the timing.
