Facing increasingly dire polls, President Donald Trump is determined to prevent Democrats from reclaiming the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm elections. So he’s pressuring Republican-controlled states ...

On Thursday, several key votes will test Donald Trump’s hold on Hill Republicans — and perhaps highlight issues where they’re ready to break from the president. Donald Trump’s latest demands may rattle even his staunchest Republican defenders on the Hill. The president fired off a flurry of ultimatums and declarations on Wednesday, first calling for Congress to ban large investors from acquiring single-family homes, a proposal expected to be included in an upcoming executive order addressing affordability. Then, Trump took aim at the defense industry, saying he plans to bar defense contractors from buyingback their own stock or paying executives more than $5 million a year, given that many of the biggest military contractors are behind schedule. He topped it off by saying he’d ask Congress for a $1.5 trillion defense budget in fiscal 2027 — a massive $500 billion increase from this year. “That’s not happening,” one House Republican told POLITICO of Trump’s spending request. But those hugely-ambitious asks were just the warmup for a series of key congressional votes Thursday that will test the president’s hold on the Republican conference — and perhaps highlight issues where the GOP is ready to break from Trump. — War powers: Senate Democrats, with the help of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), are looking to peel away just three more Republicans to pass a resolution Thursday requiring congressional approval for Trump to take additional military action in Venezuela. They may need a fourth if Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who was noncommittal Wednesday, votes against it. Democratic sponsors like Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said Wednesday that the White House’s increasingly aggressive national security moves — including leaving open the possibility of military action to acquire Greenland — might help them win support from Republicans. Several Republicans blasted the Greenland idea Wednesday. Senators on both sides of the aisle are looking to their old colleague and now Secretary of State Marco Rubio for guidance on the president’s strategy for Latin America. But several have expressed reservations about the plans Rubio has been pitching in public and behind closed doors. The resolution on Venezuela is unlikely to earn enough Republican support to pass. But keep an eye on seemingly undecided GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Todd Young (Ind.), Susan Collins (Maine) and Thom Tillis (N.C.). Meanwhile in the House, a bipartisan group led by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) is introducing its own war powers resolution on Venezuela Thursday, per a McGovern spokesperson. — Veto override: House GOP leaders think there’s a good chance enough Republicans will vote Thursday to override two Trump vetoes in a significant rebuke of the president. And they aren’t whipping members, suggesting the president is headed for a pair of losses. The bills aren’t controversial; both passed with significant Republican support. One would support Florida’s Miccosukee Tribe, which has been at odds with the White House over the admin’s planned “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center. The other would fund a Colorado water infrastructure project that’s caught in Trump’s fight with the state’s congressional delegation over cuts to a climate center. It’s unclear whether the override vote would have enough support in the Senate. Majority Leader John Thune said a whip count has not been conducted at this point. — Health care: The House is expected to pass a Democratic-led bill Thursday to revive Obamacare subsidies for three years after nine House Republicans joined all Democrats Wednesday to tee up the vote. The move goes against the explicit wishes of Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump’s vision of creating an insurance plan that sends dollars directly to consumers instead. While it’s unlikely to pass in the Senate, a bipartisan group of senators continues to meet in hopes of reaching a compromise agreement that includes an extension, with some policy changes. They’ll meet Thursday with House lawmakers in the Problem Solvers Caucus at 11:30 a.m. to continue talks. What else we’re watching: — Appropriations progress: The House is set to pass a three-bill spending package Thursday and send it to the Senate next week as Congress races to pass appropriations bills before the Jan. 30 shutdown deadline. The minibus would fund the Departments of Energy, Commerce, Interior and Justice, plus water programs, the EPA and federal science initiatives. Hard-liners pressured House leaders on the floor Wednesday to take a different approach to earmarks on the next six spending bills, which is set to become a major hurdle for finalizing the next bills, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the conversations. — Jeffries eyes AI work: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will meet this week, likely Thursday, with members of the newly formed House Democratic Commission on AI and the Innovation Economy. The meeting signals Democrats are planning to ramp up work on AI policy in the new session as Republican-led efforts to block state AI regulations have faltered. Victoria Guida, Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Benjamin Guggenheim, Mia McCarthy and Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

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The president also said, “If you get rid of the filibuster, you're not going to have a shutdown.”