The Senate on Wednesday night voted against advancing a war powers resolution aimed at limiting US military involvement with Iran, effectively walking back a similar rebuke of President Donald Trump's handling of the conflict just one day after adopting a concurrent resolution on the issue. The final tally was 47-50-1, with two Republican senators who had previously supported reining in the president switching their votes.
Key Vote Switches
GOP Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana changed their positions from Tuesday's vote. Paul voted present, while Cassidy voted against advancing the resolution. GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska again voted for the measure, while Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania again voted against it.
Trump welcomed the outcome on Truth Social, noting the shifts by Paul and Cassidy and writing, "This vote puts Iran on notice!"
Cassidy's Change of Heart
Earlier Wednesday, at a tense Senate GOP lunch with Trump, Cassidy confronted the president about the lack of information on the conflict. "I stood and said, 'You have not told the American people what's going on. It was supposed to last four weeks, it's lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved, and I want to know what's going on,'" Cassidy told reporters after the meeting.
But later Wednesday, the Louisiana Republican said he had received a "thorough briefing" from Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff on Iran. "I want to thank Vice President Vance and Special Envoy Witkoff for the thorough briefing this afternoon on Iran. I appreciate the quick invitation to the White House to address many of my concerns," he posted on X.
Paul's Explanation
Paul wrote on X Wednesday that his opinion on the war had not changed but that Trump "asked me to give consideration to his negotiating position." He added, "My opinion on the debate over war and executive power has not changed and I have voted that way several times. But since hostilities seem to be over and the President asked me to give consideration to his negotiating position, I will do so. My vote of present is a way to give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace."
Trump's Criticism of Republicans
During the Capitol Hill meeting, Trump also criticized GOP Sens. Dave McCormick and Mitch McConnell for missing Tuesday's vote. However, McConnell remains hospitalized, and McCormick was on Air Force One with the president en route to an event in Pennsylvania during the vote.
Wednesday's vote marks the 11th time the Senate has voted on an Iran war powers measure since the beginning of the year. This resolution was discharged from committee in a floor vote last month, in another case of GOP absences, but Democrats wanted to wait to push for a follow-up vote to ensure they had the support to pass it. Republicans brought it to the floor Wednesday night, hopeful that they could defeat the measure.
Broader Context
Trump has laid into Republicans who've backed various Iran war powers resolutions. After the House adopted a concurrent resolution 215 to 208 earlier this month, with four House Republicans voting with Democrats, Trump called the Republicans "GRANDSTANDERS" and their action "unpatriotic" in a post on Truth Social. And after the Senate also adopted the concurrent resolution on Tuesday, 50-48, Trump called the four Senate Republicans who backed it "losers," adding, "These Senators have just made my job more difficult."
Some Democratic senators, including Tim Kaine of Virginia, have argued that passage of a war powers resolution is necessary, even after the US reached a preliminary agreement with Iran. "I think it's a good time to have the vote to say, 'Hey, if we're really in a period of maybe some stability here, let's not just allow it to start up again without Congress being involved in that decision,'" he told reporters last week.
