Iran Threatens "Regional War" as GOP Feuds Over Funding

Partial Government Shutdown Continues as Senate Republicans Urge House Rebellion

Washington D.C. – A partial government shutdown continued into February 2026, with Senate Republicans urging their House counterparts to reject a funding package passed by the Senate. The package includes bills to fund five agencies, including the Pentagon, but Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are calling for the House to push back unless it includes Homeland Security funding and election integrity legislation, according to Fox News.

House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed hope that Congress would resolve the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding battle, as reported on Fox News Sunday. However, some Republican colleagues have stated they have conditions for getting on board with any deal. With Republicans holding a narrow one-seat majority in the House, the Speaker's ability to end the shutdown remains uncertain. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) stated on CBS's "Face the Nation" that Speaker Johnson has his vote, noting that he voted for the package previously, while most Democrats also voted for it.

The ongoing shutdown coincides with other significant events, including legal debates before the Supreme Court regarding the legality of President's tariff policies. Gary Cohn, IBM vice chairman and former director of the U.S. National Economic Council under President Trump, discussed the President's claims that current economic success is due to these tariff policies during an interview on "Face the Nation" on February 1, 2026.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high in the Middle East. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that any attack on the country by the United States would spark a "regional war," as reported by CBS News. His comments, quoted by the Tasnim news agency, followed President Trump's threats to intervene militarily in response to Iran's crackdown on recent nationwide protests. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group is currently stationed in international waters off Iran, in the Persian Gulf.