Congress pushes war powers resolutions, tells Trump to abandon Iran war
U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC, USA on Wednesday, July 22, 2026.
Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Congress was divided on Thursday over advancing a pair of war powers resolutions aimed at forcing President Donald Trump to abandon his war with Iran as the conflict escalates to a deadly new phase. fat tops $100 per barrel.
These moves were the first vote since Trump notified Congress that he was restarting the war with Iran after the failure of peace negotiations. The resurgence of fighting after weeks of a shaky ceasefire comes just months before midterm elections in the United States. It threatens to disrupt the majority Republicans’ plans to maintain their razor-thin majority.
The Senate on Thursday voted 47 to 49 to repeal a joint resolution under the War Powers Act to force Trump to end hostilities with Iran. That chamber’s action came after the House voted 214-208 earlier in the day to approve a similar measure under the War Powers Act.
Even if Congress tries to force Trump to back down, he is almost certain to veto anything that reaches his desk.
“There is no good way out of a bad war,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who introduced the resolution in the Senate. “This is an opportunity for Congress to finally take responsibility.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted for the resolution. Collins is now locked in a tough fight for re-election in a state that is solidly blue. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote against the measure.
Republicans argued before the vote that cutting off the administration’s ability to wage war would tie their hands.
“If we vote now and Republicans vote to cut and run the election and force the president to step down in the middle of this process, that would be a huge blow to America’s credibility,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.
Kennedy downplayed voters’ concerns about the war, saying: “I don’t think that’s the real issue; I think this election will be about the cost of living.”
The action of the House of Representatives was a concurrent decision; This resolution is non-binding and therefore will never make it to Trump’s desk, but will express Congress’ disapproval.
The recent escalation of the war increased oil prices again, along with international indicators Brent Crude oil rose above $100 on Thursday and US crude oil rose above $91 per barrel. Gas prices have also risen to an average of $4.09 per gallon in the U.S., according to AAA.
