For the first time since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran in late February, both chambers of Congress have voted to demand an end to the conflict, sending President Trump a sharp bipartisan rebuke even as his administration races to secure a final nuclear deal in Switzerland.
The Senate passed a war powers resolution Tuesday afternoon, 50-48, directing President Trump to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress explicitly authorizes further military action through a formal declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force. It was the 10th time the Senate has tried to stop the war, and the outcome was a stunning turnaround from past efforts.
Four Republicans broke with their party to join nearly all Democrats in supporting the measure: Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, voted against the resolution, and two Republicans did not vote. Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who has been ill and hospitalized this month, and Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, who traveled with President Trump to a rally in Pennsylvania, were absent, and their absences proved pivotal to the resolution's passage.
A White House official dismissed the Senate vote, saying the resolution "has no significance" and blaming the measure's adoption on "Republican absences." "Concurrent resolutions do not go to the president and have no force of law," the official said.
President Trump was not nearly as measured. Tuesday night he called the vote "poorly timed and meaningless" in a post on Truth Social, and accused the Senate of providing "aid and comfort to the Enemy." He reserved particular wrath for the Republicans who crossed him: "Four Republican Losers voted with the Dumocrats, and Iran asked my people, 'what does that all mean?' These Senators have just made my job more difficult, but I will get it done, one way or the other, because I always get it done!"
The Senate vote came one day before President Trump was scheduled to head to Capitol Hill to address GOP senators at their weekly lunch, a meeting now freighted with new tension. The president is not pleased with the Republicans who have been critical of the deal he struck with Iran, according to one GOP senator granted anonymity to discuss the private dynamics.
What the Resolution Does and Doesn't Do
The resolution is a concurrent resolution, meaning it passed both chambers of Congress but does not require the president's signature and does not carry the full force of law. The measure directs the president to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities against Iran and is Capitol Hill's sharpest symbolic pushback on the war yet. The resolution does allow for a limited military presence to remain in the Middle East in order to prevent any "imminent attack" against the U.S. or its allies.
Democrats insist the resolution has more teeth than the White House is willing to admit. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the resolution's sponsor in the House, said after the Senate vote that he plans to ensure the Trump administration follows it. "Regardless of what President Trump says, this measure is binding under the War Powers Resolution, and I will explore all legal avenues to ensure the Executive complies with the will of Congress," Meeks said in a statement.
**A Warning to Trump's Negotiating Position**
Republicans who voted against the resolution argued that its timing was deeply counterproductive. Sen. James Risch of Idaho warned on the Senate floor that passage of the resolution could collapse the ongoing talks entirely. "If this passes, the Iranians are going to simply stand up and walk away from negotiations," Risch said. "They're going to say: This thing's over. The Congress has told the President of the United States, 'Leave us alone. We can do whatever we want to do,' and they will walk away."
Those concerns are not abstract. The vote came the day after Vice President JD Vance departed Switzerland following high-level talks between the U.S. and Iran, with Vance saying the talks had laid a "good foundation" for a final deal. Both Vance and President Trump have insisted that Iran agreed to allow the United Nations to examine Iranian nuclear sites, a claim Iran has fiercely denied. The U.S. and Iran met last weekend in Switzerland along with representatives from Pakistan and Qatar to discuss terms for a final deal and an end to fighting in Lebanon involving Israel.
The terms of the Iran deal are spelled out in a Memorandum of Understanding that Trump signed last week, starting a 60-day clock for the sides to reach a broader agreement over ending Iran's nuclear program. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that he expects Congress to weigh in on whatever final deal emerges. "If there is some deal that is struck, I would expect at some point Congress would have some sort of vote on it," Thune told reporters, though he said he does not yet know what form that vote would take.
GOP Fractures Deepen Over the Iran Deal Itself
The war powers revolt is only part of the Republican fracturing over Iran policy. Several GOP senators have praised Trump's effort to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but they have also raised concerns about possible sanctions relief, frozen Iranian assets, a proposed reconstruction fund, and whether Tehran will accept enforceable limits on its nuclear program. Republicans have particularly objected to the $300 billion fund to help Iran rebuild, which is far greater than the $1.7 billion that President Barack Obama refunded the country under the 2015 Iran deal.
The Pentagon is simultaneously seeking $80 billion from Congress, mostly to cover the cost of the Iran war and to backfill munitions and stockpiles. The Trump administration is also seeking $1.5 trillion in total defense funding this year, a 50 percent increase, including $350 billion it wants in a budget reconciliation package.
**Background: The War That Started in February**
On February 28, President Trump joined Israel in launching strikes against Iran, triggering a region-wide war that has continued through this month. The conflict was also the second time since Trump returned to office that the U.S. military was involved in action against Iran; in June 2025, Trump had sent bombers to attack three key sites associated with Iran's nuclear enrichment program during what became known as the Twelve-Day War.
The conflict has sent prices for essential supplies, including oil, natural gas, and fertilizer, sharply higher since the war began, a result of the Iranian blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. response. Republicans are also facing pressure from voters ahead of November's midterm elections, which will decide whether the party maintains its control of both chambers.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer framed the vote as a verdict on the entire enterprise. "Time after time, the vast majority of Senate Republicans sided with Trump and his war instead of the American people," Schumer said, calling the conflict "Trump's historic blunder in Iran" and declaring it would "go down in the history books as one of the worst foreign policy forays America has ever made."
President Trump has shown no sign of accepting that framing. Asked last week about lessons learned regarding the limits of his executive powers, Trump flatly denied learning any. "There are no limits," he said.
