Senate rejects resolution to limit hostilities in Iran
WASHINGTON— Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a war powers resolution aimed at withdrawing U.S. forces from hostilities in Iran as the Trump administration steps up its military campaign in a conflict that has left hundreds dead, including at least six American soldiers.
The motion failed by a vote of 47-53.
The measure, introduced by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), would require the withdrawal of military resources from the Middle East as well as express approval by Congress before future relations with Iran, a power given to the legislature in the Constitution.
The House of Representatives, where Republicans also have an advantage, is planned to take a similar measure on Thursday. Even if both Democrat-led measures were successful, President Trump was expected to veto the legislation.
“We’re in very good shape on the battlefront, to say the least,” President Trump said at a White House event Wednesday afternoon. The president, who has come under scrutiny for offering varying accounts of the course of the war, said that if he were asked to scale American military action from 1 to 10, he would rate it at 15.
Democrats counter that Trump has the authority to conduct the ongoing operation in Iran without express approval from Congress.
Acknowledging that the measure was unlikely to succeed, they framed the vote as a strategy to force lawmakers to register their support for or opposition to the war.
“Today, every senator, every single one of them will choose a side,” Schumer said. “Do you stand with the American people who are tired of endless wars in the Middle East, or do you stand with Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth who are dragging us into another war?”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) and most of his Republican colleagues have argued that the president carried out a “preemptive” and “defensive” strike on Iran, giving him full authority to pursue unilateral military operations.
Republicans saw the vote as the “final obstacle” to Trump fulfilling his mission against the Islamic Republic.
Thune said at a news conference: “I think the president has the authority he needs to conduct the activities and operations that are currently taking place there. There’s a lot of debate and questions about the war powers act, but I think the president is acting in the best interest of the nation and our national security interests.”
Except for Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, who broke ranks to support the measure, and Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman, who opposed it, senators largely remained loyal to the party.
The vote comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the war against Iran is “accelerating” as American and Israeli forces expand air operations into Iranian territory. He noted evidence released by U.S. Central Command of a submarine attack on an Iranian warship and praised other attacks across the region as civilian casualties in Iran surpassed 1,000 on the fourth day of the conflict, according to rights groups.
“We’re going to continue to do good things,” Trump said Wednesday. “We have by far the largest military in the world, and it’s been a huge threat to us for years. They’ve been killing our people for forty-seven years, they’ve been killing people all over the world, and we have great support.”
Republicans blocked a similar war powers vote in January after the president ordered U.S. special forces to capture and extradite Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to Caracas on drug trafficking charges.
GOP leaders have argued that the outcome of this mission equates to rapid success in the Middle East, despite the Defense Department’s uncertain timeline.
Lawmakers in the House will vote on a separate war powers effort on Thursday. This bill is led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), two lawmakers who wrote the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
“Instead of sending billions of dollars abroad, we should invest in jobs, health and education here,” Khanna told X.
In addition to that proposal, moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced a separate resolution that would give the administration a 30-day period to justify continuing hostilities in the Middle East before seeking a formal declaration of war or authorization from Congress.
