Democrats marked the War Powers Act's 60-day clock on Iran operations while senators on both sides filed a burst of bipartisan legislation on China, veterans fraud, and children's online safety.
The 60-day statutory deadline under the War Powers Act of 1973 landed Friday, and Senate Democrats moved to press it. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., released a statement after President Trump notified Congress that operations in Iran had been "terminated" — a claim Schiff rejected as legally insufficient. "For 60 days, the President has used American military forces without the authorization of Congress, and now, in violation of the War Powers Act," Schiff said. "This notification does nothing to negate the requirements of the War Powers Act that the President 'shall terminate any use of United States Armed Forces.' Nor does the ceasefire, since the Navy is still being used to blockade Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz."
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., a member of the Armed Services Committee, framed the deadline in economic terms. "Today marks 60 days of President Trump's illegal war with Iran — and it is no coincidence that it also marks the day Americans are feeling the sharpest pain at the pump and at the store," she said. "Gas has hit the highest prices in four years, up more than $1.30 a gallon since the president launched the war."
The Iran statements arrived on a Friday that was anything but quiet. The Senate's release volume hit 50.3% above the Friday baseline — with three days until the early May state work period begins.
Iran war powers: 60-day deadline and Democratic pressure
Schiff's statement came hours after he had forced a Senate vote on his War Powers Resolution the previous day — a vote that failed. He argued Friday's presidential notification changes nothing on the legal merits. "Although the President may wish the law was otherwise, 'any' means 'any' and 'shall' means 'shall,'" Schiff wrote. "He started a war of choice and deployed thousands of servicemembers without approval of Congress nor the American people."
Gillibrand, who said she confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at an Armed Services Committee hearing, added: "As I told Secretary Hegseth yesterday, a majority of Americans disapprove of the war, evidence he quickly dismissed by continuing to cover for President Trump. The American people never asked for this war. 60 days in, the administration owes them a straight answer: what are we doing in Iran, and when does it end?"
China threat: bipartisan legislative and oversight push
Four separate releases Friday addressed the threat posed by the People's Republic of China — the day's strongest multi-senator convergence. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., joined a 16-senator bipartisan group introducing a resolution calling China a top foreign policy priority and urging sustained deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, protection of Taiwan, and countering predatory trade practices. The resolution calls for the United States to "maintain American leadership in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other foundational technologies."
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., introduced the China-Africa Mining Transparency Act of 2026. "As we restore American energy dominance and onshore critical mineral production, it is imperative that we expose the reality behind China's grip on critical minerals: forced labor, child exploitation, and environmental destruction," Sheehy said.
Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., addressed two distinct China vectors in separate releases — maritime militia threats to undersea cables and the arrest of a Chinese national for photographing Offutt Air Force Base. "A Chinese national was arrested and charged with illegally photographing the military installation. He photographed sensitive aircraft like the RC-135 and the E-4B. This action puts Nebraska airmen and national security at risk. It threatens Offutt's critical mission. It threatens our nation," Ricketts said. He also highlighted Chinese land acquisition near military installations: "As of 2023, Communist China owned more than 277,000 acres of farmland. They have targeted sensitive sites surrounding Army bases and airfields such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. These aren't minor intrusions. This is a serious national security threat."
Meta ad removal and children's online safety
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. — chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law — sent a joint letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the company's removal of attorney advertising related to social media addiction litigation. The senators wrote that Meta deactivated over a dozen ads, including one that read: "Anxiety. Depression. Withdrawal. Self-harm. These aren't just teenage phases — they're symptoms linked to social media addiction in children. Platforms knew this and kept targeting kids anyway."
The letter argued the removals were pretextual. "Any assertion that the removal of these ads was intended to somehow protect users is clearly pretextual because Meta frequently displays and profits from ads for scams and banned goods. In 2024, Meta estimated that 10% of its revenue would come from such ads. Meta internally estimated that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day," the senators wrote. They said the subcommittee plans to examine the matter directly.
Separately, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., announced that the GUARD Act — which would ban AI companions for minors and impose criminal penalties on companies whose AI chatbots encourage minors to commit self-harm — passed out of the Judiciary Committee.
Bipartisan legislation: veterans fraud, Social Security language, clinical trials
Three bipartisan bills landed Friday targeting distinct policy gaps. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., introduced the Veterans Protection from Fraud Act, which would add up to ten years in prison for fraud crimes targeting veterans — a sentencing enhancement that already exists for crimes targeting seniors but not veterans. "Fraud cost veterans, service members, and their families $477 million in 2023," the release noted. "Every day, our service members risk everything to protect our homeland and defend our freedoms," Cortez Masto said. "With this bill, we can crack down on the fraudsters who try to scam our veterans."
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, joined the Claiming Age Clarity Act alongside Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Chris Coons, D-Del. The bill modernizes Social Security terminology — replacing "Full Retirement Age" with "Standard Benefit Age" and "Early Eligibility Age" with "Minimum Benefit Age" — to reduce confusion about the financial consequences of benefit timing. "This bill would fix outdated language, help clear up confusion for older Ohioans and ensure they have what they need to plan effectively," Husted said. AARP endorsed the measure.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., introduced the Clinical Trial Modernization Act of 2026 to lower economic and geographic barriers to clinical trial enrollment. "Removing economic and geographic barriers to entry for underrepresented populations in clinical trials will result in better treatments and cures for patients and all Americans," Warner said. A committee report cited in the release found health disparities in conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension are projected to cost the U.S. economy more than $11 trillion through 2050.
Senate floor action: unanimous passages
The Senate passed two measures by unanimous vote Friday. Sens. Jim Justice and Shelley Moore Capito, both R-W.Va., celebrated passage of a bill authorizing a land swap between the National Park Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Harpers Ferry — adding 71.51 acres to the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park while transferring roughly 25 acres to CBP to expand its Advanced Training Center. "This is a major win for West Virginia and a perfect example of common sense in action," Justice said.
The Senate also unanimously approved a resolution from Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, both D-Calif., honoring the UCLA women's basketball team's first NCAA championship. "The dedication and tenacity of these young athletes is an inspiration to all of us. Go Bruins!" Schiff said.
COVID-19 vaccine safety hearing
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, held a hearing titled "Unmasked: How Biden Health Officials Purposely Turned a Blind Eye Toward COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Signals" and released an interim majority staff report alongside approximately 600 pages of agency records. The release states that beginning in early 2021, FDA officials became aware of a newer data mining method capable of better detecting adverse event signals associated with COVID-19 vaccines but continued using an older method with known limitations.
"Peter Marks, with the knowledge that he was treating vaccine injuries, and they weren't mild injuries. These were life-threatening injuries. These are total disability-type of injuries. So, he knew it. He was treating them. He knew that his safety surveillance system was masking these signals," Johnson said. "We've got a real big problem in this country about vaccine-injury deniers. Again, these vaccine injuries are real, but it's being denied," Johnson continued.
DOJ redistricting review following Louisiana v. Callais
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, announced that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon have committed to a full DOJ review of all redistricting districts drawn under prior interpretations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, following Schmitt's letter requesting the action in light of the Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais.
"The Department should not wait for private litigants to identify every race-based district one by one," Schmitt wrote in the letter. "The Civil Rights Division has participated in, monitored, or influenced redistricting litigation for years. It should therefore identify the universe of districts created, preserved, or defended under the old Section 2 regime and determine whether they survive Callais."
May Day labor: Gillibrand tours New York unions
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., marked May Day with stops at Teamsters Local 118 in Rochester, IBEW Local 43 in Syracuse, and the NYSUT annual convention in Albany, pushing for passage of the Faster Labor Contracts Act, which would require employers to engage in good-faith collective bargaining negotiations on a defined timeline. "Everything from groceries to gas costs more now than it did before President Trump took office, and American workers are feeling the pinch," Gillibrand said. "Instead of focusing on lowering costs and helping people get ahead, President Trump has spent his time launching a full-frontal assault on organized labor."
Energy and natural resources: Bakken EOR, biofuels, timber tax relief
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., pressed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to advance "Crack the Code 2.0," a $157 million demonstration project pairing enhanced oil recovery in the Bakken with carbon capture from coal-fired plants. Hoeven is working to finalize $36 million in DOE funding for the project. "We believe that this project will double the life of our coal fired electric industry, double the life and probably more than double the amount of oil and gas we produce," Hoeven said. Burgum expressed support, saying the project addresses both production and emissions concerns simultaneously.
Ricketts, at an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on EPA's FY2027 budget, praised recent biofuel actions. "After years of uncertainty, it's encouraging to see an administration that understands what the RFS was designed to support: which is the rural economy," he said.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced the Save America's Family Forests Act, which would allow forest landowners to immediately deduct reforestation costs following natural disasters — a provision backers say current tax law does not provide despite existing crop-loss deductions for farmers. "Thousands of Louisianians rely on our forest industries for work," Cassidy said. "Supporting our forest landowners as they rebuild is the right thing to do."
Signals
- volumeFriday release volume hit 50.3% above the Friday baseline — 31 releases against a day-of-week average of 20.6 — with recess beginning in three days.
- coordinatedFour releases from four senators converged on China threat framing on a single day: Young (bipartisan resolution), Sheehy (China-Africa Mining Transparency Act), and Ricketts (two releases on undersea cables and Offutt AFB espionage), suggesting coordinated messaging ahead of the state work period.
- volumeSen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., issued four releases today — beef month, China-Offutt espionage, undersea cables, and biofuels — the highest single-senator output in today's input set.
- recessThe early May state work period begins in three days; Friday's elevated volume is consistent with pre-recess messaging bursts.
- silent breaksSen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., appears as a cosponsor on Ricketts's beef resolution and as a co-sender on the Blackburn-Klobuchar Meta letter despite being listed as 17 days quiet in the silent roster — suggesting activity recorded in releases filed under other senators' offices.
Quiet desks
Senators with no release in two weeks or more.
- Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-OK—
- Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY60d
- Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC44d
- Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-NY17d