Clouds of smoke rise after an explosion on March 5, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – Republicans in the U.S. Senate and a Democrat blocked another war powers resolution Wednesday night to stop President Donald Trump from further military action in Iran without congressional authorization.
The resolution failed to advance, 47-53. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., broke with Democrats and joined Republicans in opposition to the measure. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted in favor.
The vote came two weeks after a similar attempt to limit Trump’s executive war powers failed in the Senate and a day later in the US House of Representatives.
The vote also came just hours after congressional Democrats, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., protested on the Capitol lawn against the war, drawing attention to a U.S. attack on the first day of the war that killed more than 100 elementary school children.
Booker leads the opposition to the war
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., a key sponsor of the resolution, said “Americans are paying the price” for the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran.
Booker said Trump, whom he called “overconfident” about the conflict, should send Cabinet members to the Senate to testify under oath.
“Thousands of people have died in this war. In barely two weeks, 200 Americans have been injured in this war. Thirteen Americans have paid the ultimate price for a war we waged because of one man’s decision. The American people as a whole are paying costs in the billions of dollars a week,” Booker said ahead of the vote.
Booker co-sponsored the measure along with Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Adam Schiff, D-Calif. and Chris Murphy, D-Conn. A Republican, Paul, was a co-sponsor of the previous War Powers Resolution, which aimed to limit Trump’s actions in Iran.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said: “There is no end to the war in sight.”
“No more senseless wars in the Middle East. No more skyrocketing gasoline prices. No more US soldiers fighting and dying in endless wars,” he said shortly before the vote.
Graham defends the war
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a vocal supporter of Trump’s war in Iran, said he knows the economy is “tough” for Americans.
“I know the economy is doing badly on the gas front, but I believe this with all my heart – if we hadn’t done this, the Iranian regime would be on its way to a nuclear capability and they would use it. At some point they would use it or give it to someone who would,” Graham said.
Oil prices rose to nearly $111 a barrel in the global market on Wednesday as Iran continued to block a key shipping route.
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, rejected Democrats’ “dangerous, obstructive resolutions.”
“Dear senators, I urge you tonight to join me in rejecting this resolution, as we have done time and time again,” Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said before the floor vote.
A War Powers resolution to shut down Trump’s military power in Venezuela narrowly failed in the Senate in January when Vice President JD Vance had to break a tie.
War power decisions require a straightforward majority.
The 1973 Dissolution of the war powers The law requires the president to report to Congress within 48 hours of the deployment of troops. If Congress has not authorized war or passed legislation related to the military action 60 days after initial notification, the President’s utilize of military forces will automatically terminate.
Congress passed the law limiting the president’s war powers, despite President Richard Nixon’s veto in the ongoing Vietnam War. congress the veto was overridden.
