Washington: The US Senate narrowly rejected a resolution seeking to end American military involvement in the war against Iran unless Congress authorised it, handing President Donald Trump another victory over lawmakers seeking to reclaim congressional war powers.
The Senate voted 50–49 against the House-passed resolution after more than 200 days of conflict, according to the official Senate floor summary.
Four Republican senators, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul and Thom Tillis, joined Democrats in supporting the measure.
Democratic Senator John Fetterman voted against it. Senator Angela Alsobrooks did not vote.
The resolution, H. Con. Res. 89, sought the withdrawal of US forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress passed specific authorisation or formally declared war. It had already cleared the House in July and qualified for expedited consideration in the Senate under the 1973 War Powers Resolution. Its Senate defeat prevents it from advancing further.
The vote was the latest congressional test of Trump’s handling of the Iran war and came as lawmakers voiced concern about its duration, financial cost and effect on fuel prices.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats had now forced 14 votes seeking to end the conflict.
“Senate Republicans voted down today’s War Powers Resolution and once again own the exorbitant cost this war has placed on Americans at home and abroad,” Schumer said.
“From the start, I’ve said that this war is bigger than politics, yet Senate Republicans continue to put party over people, and now Americans are stuck with skyrocketing gas prices, soaring grocery bills, and chaos on the global stage,” he added.
Schumer’s office alleged that the war had killed at least 19 US service members and cost taxpayers more than USD 43 billion. Those figures represented the Democratic leader’s account and were not independently confirmed in the material provided.
The Senate vote followed a closed-door briefing from Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Republican senators emerging from that briefing largely expressed support for the administration’s approach.
“The path forward was laid out, the options available,” Republican Senator Mike Rounds said after the briefing.
“Looks to me right now that there appears to be a plan laid out that will continue to degrade their economic capabilities to wage a war,” he added.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst acknowledged the economic consequences of the conflict and called for greater clarity from the administration.
She said she would “like the administration to come back with a very clear plan on how we bring this to an end”. However, Ernst added: “I do support the president.”
Democrats offered a markedly different assessment after the classified briefing.
“My impression is there’s no clear path to an end-state here,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said.
“The American people deserve to know what the cost and risk would be of that kind of military strategy,” he added.
The vote also exposed limited bipartisan unease over the conflict. Four Republicans broke with most of their party, bringing supporters within one vote of Senate approval.
Fetterman’s opposition and Alsobrooks’ absence proved decisive. Had all 100 senators voted and the result been tied, Vice President JD Vance could have cast the deciding vote in his constitutional role as president of the Senate.
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