Iran’s Attack on Israel Has U.S. Politicians Scrambling

The messy intraparty dynamics are already playing out.

Israel Palestinians Iran
Missiles and drones from Iran were intercepted over Israel on Saturday night. Tomer Neuberg/AP

As the world waits to see what will come next between Israel and Iran, politicians in America are scrambling to determine their own next steps.

The roiling Israel policy debate has remained near the center of U.S. politics for the first four months of 2024, and American politicians have for weeks seemed eager to change the subject to something else. But Iran’s attack on Israel Saturday night, retaliation for an Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound earlier in the month, shows once again how difficult that is to do.

Despite their lengthy to-do list, House Republicans had hoped to spend next week bashing President Joe Biden over home appliances. But they quickly changed course after Iran’s attack, which renewed calls across Congress to take up a much-delayed national security package as soon as possible.