US Senate rejects second bid to curb Trump’s Iran war, a day after symbolic rebuke
Senate on Wednesday rejected a resolution that would have directed President Donald Trump to pull US forces from hostilities with Iran
WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected a resolution that would have directed President Donald Trump to pull U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress formally authorized military action, handing the White House a win one day after lawmakers passed a separate, symbolic measure rebuking the war.
The resolution failed 47-50-1, with Republican leaders arguing that another congressional rebuke could undercut negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.
The measure sought to reassert Congress’s constitutional authority to declare war and would have required the administration to halt US military involvement against Iran absent a war declaration or specific authorization for the use of force.
Two shifts proved decisive. Senator Rand Paul, who has backed similar efforts alongside Democrats in the past, voted “present,” saying he did not want to jeopardize the peace talks.
He argued that with the fighting apparently over and the president having asked him to weigh his negotiating position, a “present” vote would give the White House more room and leverage to secure a lasting settlement. Senator Bill Cassidy, who had helped advance the measure out of committee in May, voted against it after what he described as a thorough briefing from Vice President JD Vance and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on the state of the conflict.
The vote followed a session earlier Wednesday in which Trump defended his Iran policy to Senate Republicans.
Trump welcomed the outcome on Truth Social, casting it as the Senate reversing its earlier position and declaring that the vote put Iran “on notice.” He thanked Paul, Cassidy, and Republican leaders including Majority Leader John Thune and Senator Lindsey Graham.
It was the second war-powers vote in two days. On Tuesday, the Senate had adopted a separate, nonbinding measure — House Concurrent Resolution 86 — by 50 to 48, directing Trump to end hostilities unless Congress authorized further action.
Already passed by the House, it represented the strongest symbolic pushback from Capitol Hill against the war after nine earlier Senate attempts failed to reach a simple majority.
On that vote, Cassidy, Paul, and fellow Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined Democrats in support, while Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania broke with his party to oppose it.
The votes come as Washington and Tehran pursue technical negotiations under a 60-day ceasefire stemming from a June 17 memorandum of understanding signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The U.S. and Israel launched military operations against Iran on Feb. 28, prompting Iranian retaliatory strikes on U.S. assets across the Middle East before the fighting was halted under a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire that took effect on April 8.
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