Senate votes 47-53 to keep Trump’s war powers unchecked by Congress

Senate blocked the war powers vote

The Senate voted 47-53 on March 4 to reject a resolution that would have forced President Trump to get congressional approval for the military campaign against Iran.

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia introduced the measure, with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky co-sponsoring it. The resolution would have directed the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities that Congress never authorized.

It needed a simple majority to pass, but fell short.

Only two senators crossed party lines

Paul was the only Republican to vote yes. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote no.

That meant Kaine needed at least five Republicans to get to a majority, and he couldn’t get close.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune argued that Trump already had the authority to order strikes on Iran, and most of his caucus agreed. The vote broke almost entirely along party lines.

House shot down its own resolution

The House rejected a similar war powers resolution the next day, March 5, by a vote of 212-219. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio were the only two Republicans to vote yes.

Four Democrats broke with their party to help defeat it: Reps. Greg Landsman, Jared Golden, Henry Cuellar, and Juan Vargas.

Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna of California introduced the House version.

Votes followed U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran

The U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. The strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior Iranian officials.

Iran responded with missiles and drones aimed at Israel and U.S. military bases across the region. At least six American service members had died as of March 3.

The congressional votes came less than a week after the campaign began.

War powers law dates back to Vietnam

The War Powers Resolution became law in 1973, during the Vietnam War era. Congress designed it to stop presidents from fighting long wars without approval from lawmakers.

The law says presidents must notify Congress within 48 hours of sending forces into hostilities. After that, the military action must end within 60 days unless Congress votes to keep it going.

Congress overrode President Nixon’s veto to pass it.

Similar efforts have failed since last summer

This isn’t the first time Congress has tried to pull back war powers and come up short. The Senate voted down a similar Iran resolution in June 2025 after U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.

Then, in January, a Venezuela war powers resolution failed when Vice President Vance cast a tiebreaking vote against it.

In that case, two Republican senators who first supported the measure flipped after White House pressure.

Republicans rallied behind the president

GOP leaders lined up to defend Trump’s authority. Republican Whip John Barrasso called the resolution a partisan effort to tie the president’s hands.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said Congress should support troops already in the field. House Speaker Mike Johnson went further, comparing a yes vote to siding with the enemy.

Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said the Constitution gives the commander in chief broad authority over military action.

One Republican voted no but wants oversight

Sen. Todd Young of Indiana voted against the resolution, but he didn’t just fall in line.

Young said Congress should take on a bigger oversight role, even though limiting the president’s military options right now would raise the danger. That stance is a shift.

Young was one of eight Republicans who voted for an Iran war powers resolution back in 2020. Several of those same senators, including Cassidy and Sen. Jerry Moran, voted no this time.

Democrats called it a constitutional duty

Kaine argued that the Constitution gives Congress alone the power to declare war. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the last thing Americans want is another war in the Middle East.

Sen. Adam Schiff pointed to the administration’s shifting reasons for the military action.

Kaine also noted that Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have all described the situation as a war.

Polls show most Americans oppose the strikes

Public opinion doesn’t favor the campaign. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found only about 27% of respondents approved of the strikes against Iran, while about 43% disapproved.

Democrats pushing the resolution pointed to those numbers as proof the public isn’t behind this war. Rep. Judy Chu said Americans have long made clear they don’t want more forever wars.

Kaine said it mattered for members of Congress to go on the record about the conflict.

Democrats plan to keep pushing back

Kaine made clear the fight isn’t over. He said the vote wasn’t a one-and-done effort and promised to keep forcing votes.

Democrats are also looking at the appropriations process as another way to push back on the war.

A separate group of Democrats has proposed a resolution giving the president 30 days before needing congressional approval.

Even if both chambers passed something, Trump could veto it, and overriding a veto takes a two-thirds majority in both chambers.

Military campaign could last weeks longer

Hegseth said the operation could last a number of weeks and that the U.S. is speeding up its campaign, not slowing down. Trump has not ruled out sending ground troops into Iran.

Sen. Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said administration officials would not rule out a ground deployment.

The military campaign shows no signs of winding down, and Congress has no vote scheduled to revisit the issue.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Congress braces for a $50 billion emergency war funding request
• U.S. futures slide and oil climbs as investors respond to escalating tensions involving Iran
• What really happened when Trump announced a Kennedy Center closure plan