Senate passes non-binding war powers resolution rebuking Trump’s Iran conflict

Senate Democrats scored another victory Tuesday by pushing back against President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, but the symbolic victory will not actually curb Trump’s war powers in the region.

Democrats and a handful of Republicans including Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. and, aided by the absence of Dave McCormick, R-Pa., passed a war powers resolution condemning the conflict in Iran. This is the same resolution that passed the House of Representatives earlier this month in a rare example of Republicans breaking with Trump.

Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., joined nearly all Senate Democrats in passing the resolution by a 50-48 vote.

But unlike several previous attempts to restrict Trump’s power in the Senate, the House-passed measure has no legally binding weight and will not go to the president’s desk for signature because it will likely be vetoed.

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Still, Democrats scored another victory against the war after last week’s stumble.

The vote comes as Congress is reeling from a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and Iran that gave officials more time to negotiate a longer-term peace deal.

Many Republicans were startled by the flood of information about the deal; Some have compared the agreement to former President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ripped the Memorandum of Understanding in a statement Thursday, warning that the agreement “negotiates the victories of Operation Epic Fury in a manner completely contrary to the president’s goals.”

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Wicker took particular issue with the proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund; He acknowledged that it wouldn’t be taxpayer-funded, but that “Iran’s return under President Obama’s 2015 deal would look minuscule by comparison.”

Other Republicans are less than pleased with the temporary lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil after years of keeping the oil business in a bad grip.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) said he wanted to “tie sanctions relief or financial incentives to conditions on Iran’s behavior” and acknowledged that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was part of that.

THE PRICE OF THE IRAN WAR REACHED 80 BILLION DOLLARS — MORE THAN TWICE WHAT WAS LISTED IN CONGRESS

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks to reporters as he enters the Senate chamber on Dec. 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

But he also said that “the goal here will always be to get Iran to comply with ending its nuclear program in exchange for financial incentives.” And if the final agreement includes a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, lawmakers will be able to vote on it.

Congress is also preparing to consider a request from the Pentagon for $80 billion in additional spending to cover the costs of the war; That’s more than double what Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon comptroller told lawmakers at a hearing earlier this year.

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Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., argued that now is “the perfect time for Congress to step back and ask the question of what the next chapter should be rather than letting one man make that decision” as the Memorandum of Understanding goes into effect.

“If you have to come to us for diplomacy and you have to come to us for money, you shouldn’t lead us to start a war on our own,” Kaine said.