Senate passes symbolic Iran war powers rebuke to Trump

The Senate voted Tuesday to approve a war powers resolution directing President Donald Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran, delivering a bipartisan but largely symbolic rebuke of his handling of the conflict.

The measure passed 50-48 after four Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky — joined nearly all Democrats in support. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote no. Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania did not vote.

The resolution had already cleared the House earlier this month, making it the first war powers measure on Iran to pass both chambers. The House approved it 215-208, with four Republicans joining Democrats. The measure says the president must “remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran” unless Congress declares war or specifically authorizes the use of military force.

Because it was introduced as a concurrent resolution, it does not go to Trump for his signature. The White House said the vote had “no significance,” would not reach the president’s desk and would have no force of law. A White House official also said the resolution was based on a false premise because “there are no hostilities from which to remove U.S. forces, as hostilities terminated with the ceasefire on April 7th.”

Both the United States and Iran have said that ceasefire remains in place, NBC News reported, even as the countries have occasionally exchanged strikes.

Democrats argued the vote reasserted Congress’s constitutional role in decisions over war. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote that Republicans had another chance to decide “whether they want Trump’s disastrous war to continue.” After the vote, he said in a statement, “The message from the only branch of government with the power to declare war is unmistakable: the Trump administration must withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities in Iran.”

Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and sponsor of the resolution, said he would “explore all legal avenues to ensure the executive complies with the will of Congress.” He added, “Congress never authorized this failed war, and the president certainly has no authority to continue it indefinitely without our consent as the Constitution demands.”

Some Republicans warned that the measure could undermine negotiations with Tehran. Sen. James Risch of Idaho said on the Senate floor that if it passed, “the Iranians are going to simply stand up and walk away from negotiations.” He added, “It’s going to have no effect. The president isn’t going to pay any attention to it.”

The vote came one day after Vice President JD Vance left Switzerland following high-level talks between the U.S. and Iran. Vance said the talks had laid a “good foundation” for a final deal. Vance and Trump have said Iran agreed to allow United Nations inspectors to examine Iranian nuclear sites, a claim Iran has strongly denied. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for talks with officials involved in mediating between Tehran and Washington.

The Senate action also reflected growing Republican unease over Trump’s 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, along with Sens. Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz, have pushed back on the agreement.

Public support for the war has weakened. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday found that 23% of Americans believed the United States was stronger because of the war with Iran, while nearly two-thirds thought any truce with Tehran was unlikely to last. Al Jazeera reported the same poll found that 24% of U.S. citizens felt the war had been worth the cost.

Trump criticized the House vote earlier this month, writing on Truth Social that lawmakers had moved “to limit my War Powers, right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran.” He called the effort “unpatriotic.”