A day after passing a resolution intended to limit US military involvement in the conflict with Iran, the Senate reversed course and declined to move forward with another war powers proposal, easing pressure on President Donald Trump over his management of the crisis.
The late-night vote on Wednesday followed criticism from President Donald Trump, who voiced displeasure with Senate Republicans who supported Tuesday’s Iran war powers resolution, as well as those absent during the vote, arguing that Congress had weakened his leverage in negotiations with Iran.
Republican senators Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy, who had earlier supported limiting the president’s authority over military action involving Iran, switched positions during the latest vote. Paul chose to vote present, while Cassidy voted against allowing the resolution to proceed.
Meanwhile, Republican senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski maintained their support for the measure, while Democratic senator John Fetterman once again opposed it. The resolution ultimately failed with a vote count of 47 against 50, with one senator voting present.
President Donald Trump reacted positively to the outcome on Truth Social, highlighting the change in position by Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy and writing, “This vote puts Iran on notice!”
Earlier on Wednesday, during what sources described as a tense lunch meeting between Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump, Bill Cassidy reportedly challenged the president over Iran policy, telling him he would continue backing war powers resolutions until Congress and the American public receive more details about 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.
Later on Wednesday, the Louisiana Republican said he had received what he described as a “thorough briefing” on the Iran situation from Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“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.
Rand Paul, the Republican senator from Kentucky, wrote on X on Wednesday that his views on the conflict remained unchanged, but said President Donald Trump had asked him to take the administration’s negotiating strategy into account.
“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,” he wrote.
President Donald Trump also used the Capitol Hill gathering to express frustration over the absence of Republican senators Dave McCormick and Mitch McConnell during Tuesday’s vote. McConnell, however, remained hospitalised, while McCormick was accompanying the president on Air Force One to an event in Pennsylvania when the vote occurred.
The vote held on Wednesday marked the 11th time the Senate has considered legislation tied to limiting presidential war powers in relation to Iran since the start of the year. The resolution had previously been moved out of committee through a floor vote last month after several Republican senators were absent. Democrats later delayed bringing it back for another vote while working to secure enough backing for passage. Republicans eventually scheduled it for consideration on Wednesday night, confident they had the numbers to block it.
Trump has repeatedly criticised members of his own party who supported efforts to limit presidential authority over military action involving Iran. After the House approved a concurrent resolution earlier this month by a vote of 215 to 208 — with four Republicans joining Democrats — Trump condemned the lawmakers on Truth Social, describing them as “GRANDSTANDERS” and calling their decision “unpatriotic.”
Following the Senate’s approval of the same measure on Tuesday in a 50–48 vote, Trump again criticised Republican supporters of the resolution, referring to the four GOP senators who backed it as “losers” and adding, “These Senators have just made my job more difficult.”
Several Democratic senators, including Tim Kaine of Virginia, maintained that a war powers resolution should still move forward, arguing that a preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran does not remove the need for congressional oversight.
“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.
