Why VRA and Iran Dominate This Week’s Sunday Shows
Sunday’s agenda tracks two power plays: Republicans moving on maps after a VRA ruling, and Trump deflecting a War Powers clash over Iran.
This week’s Sunday-show lineup is really about who gets to set the rules. On the domestic side, Republicans in Southern statehouses are moving fast to exploit a new Supreme Court ruling that weakened Voting Rights Act protections in redistricting fights. On the foreign-policy side, the Trump White House is trying to close off a congressional challenge by arguing the Iran war has effectively ended even as the 60-day War Powers deadline has arrived. That is why both stories made The Hill’s preview: they are not just news cycles, they are tests of institutional leverage. 
Sunday shows preview: VRA ruling fuels redistricting battle; Iran war crosses 60 days 
Trump says Iran war 'terminated,' as war powers deadline arrives | Reuters
Republicans see an opening in the VRA ruling
Republican legislatures hold the immediate leverage. After the Supreme Court struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana, the ruling accelerated redistricting maneuvering across the South. Alabama and Tennessee are already moving toward special sessions or map changes, and the broader fight is no longer just about compliance with prior voting-rights rulings; it is about whether Republicans can lock in additional House seats before the next election cycle. 
Redistricting battle intensifies in states after US Supreme Court ruling on Voting Rights Act - The Washington Post 
Alabama and Tennessee join rush of southern states moving to redraw maps after Supreme Court ruling | CNN Politics
The beneficiaries are clear: GOP governors, legislative leaders, and House Republicans who can translate a legal shift into durable district advantages. The actors under pressure are just as clear: Black voters, civil-rights groups, and House Democrats who had relied on Section 2 litigation to preserve or create opportunity districts. The broader 
US politics implication is that one court ruling can now trigger a national map fight, not just a Louisiana dispute. The potential upside for Republicans is material; the Washington Post reported the ruling could help deliver a handful of seats in 2026 and more by 2028 if states redraw aggressively. Voting rights ruling could deliver GOP a host of House seats in 2028 - The Washington Post
Trump is testing Congress more than Iran
On Iran, the White House’s leverage comes from congressional passivity. The War Powers Resolution’s 60-day clock reached its key deadline on May 1, but President Donald Trump says hostilities have “terminated” and that a ceasefire means no new authorization is required. Reuters and AP both report the administration is using that claim to avoid a direct constitutional confrontation with Congress. Trump says Iran war 'terminated,' as war powers deadline arrives | Reuters 
Trump contends hostilities with Iran have 'terminated' | AP News
This matters because the immediate contest is less about battlefield movement than about precedent. If Congress accepts the administration’s interpretation, the presidency gains more room to define when a war begins and ends, and lawmakers lose one of the few statutory tools they have to force a vote. Even some Republicans, including Susan Collins, have questioned whether authorization or funding oversight is now required, but party leadership has not forced the issue. The law sets a 60-day limit on unauthorized wars. The US is blowing past it in Iran | CNN Politics
What to watch next
Watch two decision points. First, in the United States, special sessions and court filings in Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee will show whether Republicans can convert legal momentum into new maps before the next electoral deadlines. Second, on the international side, the real test is whether Congress forces an authorization or funding vote after May 1—or whether the White House’s “hostilities terminated” formula becomes the new operating standard.
