With the Department of Homeland Security standoff in the rearview mirror, Senate Republicans are going on offense with proposals that divide Democrats such as an Iran oversight bill and trade legislation.

Senate Republicans are desperate to show they can govern after they largely wasted February haggling over a DHS funding bill without winning any of the concessions they hoped for on immigration.

After battling among themselves for weeks, Republicans now want to put Democrats on the defensive by pushing issues that split Democratic centrists and liberals.

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“We’re definitely moving to offense. We’re hoping the Democrats want to work with us on some of those issues, but like usual we’re not holding our breath on that,” said Sen. John Thune John Randolph ThuneWhat Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Don't expect a government check anytime soon The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccine, masks MORE (S.D.), the third-ranking member of the Senate GOP leadership.

Senate Republicans are also moving to patch up relations with the House, with key committee chairmen holding joint meetings again after much of that activity was frozen during the DHS battle.

Senate Democrats last week accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE (R-Ky.) of turning a bipartisan Iran bill into a wedge issue by pushing it on to the floor before the administration had completed its negotiations with the Iranian government over its nuclear program.

McConnell relented on bringing up the bipartisan bill, which would give Congress oversight over an Iranian nuclear deal, after Democrats vowed to unify and filibuster it.

“In an opportunistic moment he tried to drive a wedge between Democrats and Israel and with his backtracking, that move backfired,” said a senior Democratic aide.

Trade is another issue on the Senate agenda that divides Democrats. While President Obama has called on Congress to grant him fast-track authority to negotiate trade deals, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid Harry Mason ReidSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Mellman: The likely voter sham Bottom line MORE (Nev.) is opposed.

“Over here they better be careful and not try to jam things here, because you could run into the same problem, because there’s a group of people who don’t like the trade thing. Is it a majority of Democrats? Probably,” Reid told The Wall Street Journal.

McConnell used the wedge strategy successfully with the first issue out of the gate in January, the Keystone XL pipeline. The Senate passed a measure approving the project with nine Democratic votes, sending it to Obama’s desk.

The president vetoed the Keystone bill, and the Senate failed to override him last week.

Don Stewart, McConnell’s spokesman, says the overarching goal is not to divide Democrats but instead to break the legislative logjam that stifled the chamber during four years of Democratic control.

“We actually want to pass legislation. We don’t want to have show votes. Last Congress was about making a point. This Congress about passing things,” he said.

Some Republicans are worried their party has squandered the first 60 days of the session by becoming bogged down in an intraparty fight over immigration and Homeland Security funding.

“I’m really concerned because the message we sent up in the election — and the people who responded gave us a majority — was send Harry Reid down and Mitch McConnell up and Republicans together would work to really show how we can govern,” said Sen. Dan Coats Daniel (Dan) Ray CoatsFBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Trump, Biden renew push for Latino support Former Intel chief had 'deep suspicions' that Putin 'had something on Trump': book MORE (R-Ind.).

“The clock is ticking already. We’re eating up a lot of time going nowhere. That’s the problem,” he added.

McConnell plans to move several relatively bipartisan initiatives in the next few weeks to put legislative points on the board.

This week he will move a bill to fight human trafficking with strong bipartisan support. It passed the Judiciary Committee unanimously.

The GOP leader also wants fast action on a bipartisan cybersecurity bill. But that measure could also divide Democrats, with the White House and some Democratic senators expressing concerns about privacy.

The biggest lift before the Easter Recess, however, is the budget resolution Senate Republicans hope to pass before the end of the month.



Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi Michael (Mike) Bradley EnziChamber of Commerce endorses McSally for reelection Cynthia Lummis wins GOP Senate primary in Wyoming The Hill's Convention Report: Democrats gear up for Day Two of convention MORE (R-Wyo.) will mark up the budget the week of March 16 and is scheduled to bring it to the floor the following week.

“I’m talking to committee members about specific problems on it, trying to make sure we have support and we’ve covered all the problems,” he told reporters, noting that he and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), the chairman of the House Budget panel, have held weekly meetings.

One of the major decisions that has yet to be made is how to use the special budgetary protection known as reconciliation, which would allow Republicans to pass a deficit-reducing measure with a simple majority vote.

Conservatives are pressing for a full repeal of ObamaCare through reconciliation, but other Republicans would like to see it used for tax and entitlement reform.

A senior Budget panel Republican said the strategy for budgetary reconciliation “is uncertain at this time.”

Meanwhile, Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson Ronald (Ron) Harold JohnsonThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - White House moves closer to Pelosi on virus relief bill Second GOP senator to quarantine after exposure to coronavirus GOP-led panel to hear from former official who said Burisma was not a factor in US policy MORE (R-Wis.) is gearing up to move a border security and interior enforcement bill, the first step in the GOP’s immigration strategy.

He approached House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte Robert (Bob) William GoodlatteNo documents? Hoping for legalization? Be wary of Joe Biden Press: Trump's final presidential pardon: himself USCIS chief Cuccinelli blames Paul Ryan for immigration inaction MORE (R-Va.) last week about recommencing talks.

“I talked to Bob Goodlatte as we were walking to the chamber for the [Benjamin] Netanyahu speech saying, we’ve got to get back together again,” he said, voicing frustration with the weeklong impasse over DHS funding.

“It certainly held up things in the Senate. I didn’t like to see it,” he said.

Republicans have a short window in which to rack up legislative accomplishments before 2016 presidential politics intrude.

Their path forward is complicated by a looming series of deadlines that are likely to spark controversy.

A one-year patch intended to freeze scheduled cuts to doctors’ payments will expire on March 31.

The Highway Trust Fund runs out of money on May 31.

And the federal debt limit — an issue that brought Congress to a standstill in 2011 and 2013 — will need to be raised by October or November, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Amongst these deadlines, Republicans will have to find time to advance two of their biggest priorities: a replacement for ObamaCare, which will become more pressing if the Supreme Court strikes down the federal healthcare exchanges in 34 states, and tax reform.

A senior Senate Republican aide said both initiatives are wending their way through the committee process. The aide predicted healthcare legislation will remain under wraps until closer to when the Supreme Court is expected to rule in King v. Burwell. The case could strip healthcare subsidies from 7 million to 8 million people.