The USS Rafael Peralta patrols the Arabian Sea in support of the U.S. blockade against ships entering or exiting Iranian ports in April 2026. (U.S. Navy)
WASHINGTON — Three Senate Republicans voted with Democrats on Wednesday to curb President Donald Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran, providing the largest Republican backing yet for the unsuccessful efforts to rein in the conflict.
The 49-50 vote was the first since the war passed the 60-day mark, a point in the conflict that some Republicans had said would end their support for President Donald Trump’s unilateral authority to continue the war without a say from Congress.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, for the first time joined Sens. Susan Collins, of Maine, and Rand Paul, of Kentucky, in voting with Democrats to advance the measure. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania again voted with Republicans.
The resolution was introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and was the seventh attempt by Democrats to halt the war in Iran since it began at the end of February. Democrats have vowed to force such votes every week the Senate is in session.
The latest effort came more than a week after Trump notified Congress that hostilities with Iran had ended and asserted that the ceasefire had stopped the clock on a 60-day statutory deadline to obtain congressional authorization to continue the war.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Murkowski in a hearing on Tuesday that Trump had “all the authorities” he needs to restart a bombing campaign, implying the president will not seek a formal authorization for use of military force from Congress.
The majority of Republicans have agreed with the administration’s position and argued that hostilities had ended despite an ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports.
“Let’s be clear: President Trump has complied with the law,” said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. “Enforcing a blockade is not the same as active hostilities under the War Powers Act.”
The Vietnam-era law allows the president to deploy American forces into hostilities without congressional authorization for up to 60 days. After that, the president must end the operation unless he secures approval for the continued use of military force from Congress or requests a 30-day extension.
The clock began on March 2, the day Trump formally notified Congress of the campaign, and hit the 60-day period on May 1.
Democrats have rejected Trump’s assertion that hostilities have ended, pointing to recent exchanges of fire between the U.S. and Iran, the continued deployment of 50,000 American troops in the region and the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, an act of war under international law.
“The War Powers Act does not have a provision that says, ‘If the war becomes less fierce, it doesn’t count against the 60 days,’ ” Merkley said. “And everybody in the world knows that the war has continued.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told reporters before the vote Wednesday that the economic fallout of the war, which has spiked fuel prices worldwide, will eventually allow a war powers resolution to pass. Collins flipped her vote to side with Democrats earlier this month.
“There will be a day, and it might be soon, where the Senate will say to the president: ‘Stop this war,’ ” Kaine said.
Such an outcome will likely be symbolic, however, given Trump’s ability to ultimately veto the measure. A similar resolution narrowly failed in the House last month.
Many Republicans have maintained that removing troops from the conflict, as the resolutions have called for, is dangerous, and top Republicans in the Senate have accused the Democrats leading the measures of repeatedly trying to obstruct the president.
