Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have lots of questions about the administration's short- and long-term plans in Iran following this weekend's military action that killed Iran's long-time leader and other high-ranking officials.

The full memberships of the House and Senate will be briefed March 3rd by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Tensions are likely to be high with Democrats angry that the administration bypassed Congressional authorization for the military strikes.

Members of both parties are concerned about the risk to U.S. troops, what successful regime change looks like and the potential impact on oil prices, inflation and the economy. Democrats are expected to push for votes on a "war powers" resolution in both chambers this week. A vote in the House is likely a toss-up at best, while the chances of passage in the Senate are considered low.

In the wake of the February 20th Supreme Court decision invalidating the bulk of his tariffs, President Donald Trump used a different emergency authority to impose a global 10% tariff on virtually all imports on February 24th. The provision can remain in place for no more than 150 days, which is July 22nd. The law, a part of the 1974 Trade Act, allows for a maximum tariff rate of 15%.

Trump has said that he intends to raise the across-the-board tariff rate to that level, but has not yet issued a directive to do so. Meanwhile, the administration said it will focus on expediting its use of Sections 232 and 301 of the Trade Act to impose product-specific and country-specific tariffs. Those two provisions have already been used to impose tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper, furniture and more, but the process requires an investigation and other administrative hurdles that typically take months to navigate.

Clocking in at 108 minutes, Trump's speech February 24th was the longest State of the Union address in history. While the speech was relatively light on big policy initiatives, the president did make four notable proposals in the investing/financial services space:

• Retirement savings initiative: The president announced that, beginning in 2027, the government would provide an annual match of up to $1,000 for employees who do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement account. He said this would solve what he called "the gross disparity" between those who have access to a plan and the 50+ million Americans who do not. One interpretation is that this could be an expansion of the "Savers Match," which Congress passed as part of 2022's SECURE Act 2.0 and is already set to launch next year–but currently only workers making less than $25,000 per year are eligible. The White House says the accounts would be similar to the Thrift Savings Plan for federal employees (i.e., low fees, limited number of index fund investment options). There were not many other details, but the White House said more information would be coming soon.
• Trump accounts: The accounts for newborns have an initial government contribution of $1,000. The president plugged the launch of his accounts, saying that "with modest additional contributions, these young people's accounts could grow to over $100,000 or more by the time they turn 18." He praised Michael Dell and other philanthropists for their support of the program  and shared the website address for signing up for an account. The White House says more than 2 million families have signed up for the accounts, which are expected to be available this summer. The Treasury Department is drafting rules and regulations now that will answer a number of open questions about how the accounts will work.
• Trump endorses ban on stock trading for members of Congress: This was a bit of a surprise, as Trump has opposed this legislation in the past, but he called on Congress to "pass the Stop Insider Trading Act without delay." Both Republicans and Democrats stood and applauded the line. But it's not clear the president's boost will move Congress forward—lawmakers have talked about a ban on stock trading for years without ever passing one. And Democrats have concerns that the Republican bill Trump mentioned does not apply to the president or vice president, nor does it require lawmakers to sell stocks they already own. Even if the bill passed the House, it would face a tough road in the Senate.
• Investor housing ban: The president reiterated his call for Congress to ban institutional investors who own more than 100 single-family homes from buying more. The Senate is scheduled to vote this week on a housing reform package that is expected to include provisions addressing this issue. In a sign that this issue has some election-year momentum, 17 Senate Democrats last week introduced a bill that would take a different approach, by ending the tax incentives available to large investors in rental homes.

Voters were headed to the polls in Texas on March 3rd for one of the most closely watched Senate primaries of the midterm cycle. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), seeking his fifth term, has been locked in a bitter primary battle with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Congressman Wesley Hunt. Polling had shown Paxton with a lead, but short of the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff, which would take place between the top two finishers on May 26th.

On the Democratic side, Rep. Jasmine Crockett has been in a close battle with Texas State Representative James Talarico for the nomination. Democrats see flipping Texas—something that hasn't happened in more than 30 years—as a potential path to the Senate majority. The races have set a record for the most campaign spending in a primary in history.

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