An MH-60S Sea Hawk hovers above the flight deck of Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius on June 14, 2026, in the Middle East. (U.S. Navy)
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday narrowly rejected an attempt to force President Donald Trump to remove American forces from the war against Iran as the U.S. prepared to enter into an initial deal with Tehran to cease hostilities.
The 47-48 vote came days before U.S. and Iranian officials are expected to sign a preliminary agreement to end the war on Friday in Switzerland, kicking off a 60-day ceasefire and negotiation period for major points of contention.
Democrats said the lull in the conflict offered an opportune opening for lawmakers to rein in Trump. They warned that the president could return the country to war at any time, particularly if future talks about Iran’s nuclear program are not to his liking.
“I think the fact that we’re in an intermission is the perfect time to vote for a war powers resolution specifying we should not restart a war against Iran without the consultation with Congress that should have started before the war was begun,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
The Senate has considered multiple resolutions aimed at pulling troops from the Iran conflict or forcing Trump to seek congressional authorization for it since the U.S. and Israel launched the war more than 100 days ago.
One of the measures advanced on a procedural vote last month but has not yet passed the full Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats want to “make sure all the votes are there” before moving forward with that resolution.
The vote breakdown on Tuesday mirrored last month’s vote.
Four Republicans — Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky — voted in favor of the measure. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote against it.
Five senators missed the vote: Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, the Democrat who introduced the latest war powers resolution, said Tuesday that he wanted to send a message “that the president should not feel that he can easily and so cavalierly use American might while Congress stands idly by.”
“After 109 days of a failed war and now a fragile, temporary but welcome truce, will my Republican colleagues choose today to finally stand up to this president?” he asked on the Senate floor.
Republican Jim Risch of Idaho dismissed the measure as an irrelevant ploy by Democrats to remove U.S. forces from hostilities that have been over “for some time.” He said repeated introductions of such resolutions threatened to undermine peace talks.
“If a miracle happened and this passed, got through the Senate, got through the House, and the president signed it — if that miracle happened, do you think Iran would sign the deal that has been negotiated?” Risch asked. “Of course not.”
The House voted this month to limit Trump’s ability to wage war in Iran after four Republicans crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats. Trump condemned the vote as “unpatriotic” and said the Republicans “should be ashamed of themselves.”
The passage of any war powers resolution will almost certainly face Trump’s veto.
Any deal related to Iran’s nuclear program will need to be submitted to Congress for review, however. A law passed in 2015 gives lawmakers the ability to kill such an agreement via a disapproval resolution.
