The White House has repeatedly stated it prefers a diplomatic solution to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, with the buildup seen as a way to gain leverage over Tehran. But Trump’s continued deployments, including two aircraft carrier strike groups, have reignited congressional debate over his war powers and calls for him to come before Congress to authorize an attack.

It’s just one of several controversies Trump will have to navigate when he visits the Capitol for the first State of the Union of his second term. His speech comes amid a partial government shutdown over the tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a Friday Supreme Court ruling that struck down the bedrock of his tariff regime.

“It’s going to be a long one because we have so much to talk about,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

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In the case of Iran, Republicans have signaled they will stand virtually united with Trump, making the early congressional friction largely a partisan exercise. Still, the U.S. buildup, a show of military might that includes destroyers, submarines, and dozens of fighter jets, could drive a new wedge between Trump and his more isolationist base after an earlier strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities last year.

Trump’s top military advisers are reportedly weighing the risks of a protracted fight, though the president downplayed the odds of failure on Truth Social Monday. And like that in Venezuela, the president has repeatedly suggested his goals could include regime change in Tehran.

For Democrats, conflict with Iran is threatening to fray the unity they showed last month when all House Democrats voted on a symbolic measure to rein in Trump after the overthrow of ex-Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. So far, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) have said they will buck their party on an Iranian war powers vote that could happen as early as this week, citing a desire to give the president flexibility.

The White House has yet to detail what Trump might say about Iran in his State of the Union, but the speech presents a rare chance to defend his actions before tens of millions of primetime viewers, something Republicans do not want him to squander.

American negotiators are expected to meet with their Iranian counterparts in Geneva on Thursday for another round of negotiations, as advisers weigh both targeted and broader military options.

“The public needs to know what is at stake,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told the Washington Examiner, calling the address the “right” opportunity to bring up Iran.

Bacon was one of two House Republicans who voted to rein in Trump after his military operation in Venezuela, but he has taken a decidedly hawkish view on Iran, falling in the camp of Republicans who believe Trump risks damaging his credibility abroad if the United States does not follow through on its military threat.

In a statement last week, Bacon noted that Trump sided with the Iranian people in a government crackdown that is estimated to have killed tens of thousands of protesters.

“He promised the Iranians that we would support them if they stood up against the regime,” Bacon said. “There cannot be empty promises.”

Those voices are clashing with Trump allies, who view further military intervention skeptically and have been critical of the president’s heavy emphasis on foreign policy. Yet on Capitol Hill, Republicans have given him wide latitude, with Thomas Massie (R-KY) standing as the only House Republican co-sponsoring the Iran war powers resolution.

In the Senate, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) has a similar measure ready to bring to the floor, but is likely to face the same setback as last July, when Republicans comfortably defeated a war powers vote that came after Trump’s strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

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Democrats argue that Trump is overstepping his executive authority with the strikes and owes it to lawmakers to communicate his end objective in Iran. His tariffs more readily tie into their message for the midterm elections, when they will make an affordability pitch to voters. But polling also shows the public is uneasy about further strikes and widely supportive of congressional approval.

“The administration has yet to articulate to Congress and the American people what the objectives or strategy would be for any potential military campaign against Iran, let alone what it would mean for the lives of American service members or the costs for American taxpayers,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on Friday.