Congress to Take Up First War Powers Vote Since Iran Strikes

The Senate is set to take an initial procedural vote on Wednesday on a measure that would block President Donald Trump from ordering further military strikes on Iran without congressional approval, marking the first formal test of lawmakers’ willingness to rein in a widening conflict that the President began without their consent.

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The resolution, led by Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, invokes the 1973 War Powers Resolution in an effort to force Congress to reclaim its constitutional authority to declare war. The measure has the backing of most Democrats in the Senate and at least one Republican—Rand Paul of Kentucky. But it is all but certain to fail, as have seven other war powers resolutions brought to the floor since last summer.

Republicans, who control both chambers, have largely rallied behind the President. “We should let him finish the job,” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Tuesday, voicing support for a U.S.-Israeli air campaign that began five days ago and has already resulted in American casualties and the deaths of hundreds of others, including the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

It’s a similar story in the House, where another war powers resolution is expected to get a vote on Thursday. Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday likened the measure to siding “with the enemy,” and has said he has the votes to defeat it. 

Even if both chambers were to approve the resolution, Trump could veto it. Overriding a presidential veto requires two-thirds support in both chambers. Congress has never overridden a presidential veto of a war powers resolution.

The vote comes amid mounting frustration among Democrats who say Trump has increasingly sidelined Congress on matters of war. During Trump’s second term, the U.S. military has struck seven other countries without Trump seeking authorization from lawmakers, arguing that he has inherent constitutional authority as commander in chief and is operating within existing statutory limits.

The War Powers Resolution, passed in 1973 in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, was designed to check precisely that kind of unilateral action. It requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing U.S. forces into hostilities and bars armed forces from remaining in such conflicts for more than 60 days—with a possible 30-day extension—without a declaration of war or specific authorization for the use of military force. It also allows any member of Congress to force a vote on a resolution directing the removal of U.S. forces.

Trump did send a legally required notification letter to Congress on Monday, days after ordering sweeping airstrikes on Iranian targets. But in it, he described the mission as advancing national interests and eliminating Iran as a global threat—language that differed from the Administration’s public claims that the strikes were necessary to head off an imminent danger to American troops and allies in the region.

That shifting rationale has deepened skepticism among Democrats, many of whom emerged from classified briefings on Tuesday saying they were unconvinced that the Administration had demonstrated an immediate threat that justified bypassing Congress.

“I am truly worried about mission creep,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after Tuesday’s briefing, calling the session “very unsatisfying” and criticizing what he described as different explanations offered on different days.

Lawmakers said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned in the briefing that operations could intensify in the coming days. At one point, Rubio publicly suggested the strikes were prompted by Israel’s plans to attack Iran and concerns that American forces could face retaliation. Later, he and others emphasized Iran’s ballistic missile development as an imminent and serious threat. In other settings, the President has framed the mission more broadly as an effort to “neutralize Iran’s malign activities.”

Read More: Rubio’s Rationale on Iran Strikes Gets Messier, as Congress Demands Answers

“I am more fearful than ever, after this briefing, that we may be putting boots on the ground,” said Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, after Tuesday’s classified briefing. 

Republicans, by contrast, largely defended the President’s authority. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said he believed the Trump Administration was operating within the 60-day window permitted under the statute and would vote against the resolution. But he and others signaled that their support might waver if the operation expanded or dragged on, particularly if American ground forces were sent into Iran.

Not all Democrats are united behind the war powers resolution. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has said he is a “hard no,” arguing that cutting off the President’s authority mid-campaign would send the wrong message. In the House, Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, and Greg Landsman of Ohio have indicated they will oppose the resolution but would back a more limited alternative that would give the Administration 30 days to wind down operations before seeking authorization.

The procedural vote on Wednesday will reveal whether any Republicans in the Senate are willing to buck party leadership to advance the measure. At least four would need to join Democrats and Rand Paul for it to clear the chamber, assuming full attendance. Even then, some could reverse course on final passage, as several did earlier this year during a similar debate over Venezuela after the president publicly rebuked them.

For Kaine and his allies, the immediate prospects are dim. But they argue that forcing lawmakers to go on record is itself a step toward restoring Congress’s war-making authority. “If you don’t have the guts to vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on a war vote,” Kaine said this week, “how dare you send our sons and daughters into war where they risk their lives?”