The United States Senate recently declined to pass a resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump’s authority to engage militarily with Iran. This decision comes in the wake of an assertive military strike conducted by the President, in collaboration with Israel, which has sparked significant backlash from members of Congress. Lawmakers have criticized the President for proceeding without their consent.

The resolution, known as the War Powers resolution on Iran, was defeated by a narrow margin, with a final vote tally of 47 in favor and 53 against. It required a simple majority to pass but fell short. Notably, Democratic Senator John Fetterman opposed the resolution, while Republican Senator Rand Paul supported it, highlighting the bipartisan nature of the debate.

The push for the resolution was led by several prominent Democrats, including Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia, Adam Schiff of California, and Chuck Schumer of New York. They were joined by Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, underscoring a shared concern across party lines regarding unauthorized military actions.

Senator Tim Kaine expressed his hope that his fellow Senators would choose to halt what he described as a “dangerous and unnecessary war,” which has already claimed the lives of six U.S. service members. “We owe it to those in uniform, their families, and all Americans to not repeat the mistakes made in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Kaine implored, emphasizing the need for prudence and reflection in military engagements.

Kaine said that he prayed that his colleagues would ‘vote to end this dangerous and unnecessary war,’ during which six US service members have already been killed. 

‘We owe it to those in uniform, their families, and all Americans to not make the same mistakes that we made in Iraq and Afghanistan,’ Kaine added.

Schumer, meanwhile, described the war as a ‘conflict with no clear objectives, no plan, and no authorization from Congress,’ adding that Congress has the duty to rein in Trump’s belligerence.

Schiff noted that ‘Congress must demand that the president — if he believes the threat from Iran justified going to war; that war is justified; that the deaths of our troops is acceptable; that the expenditure of billions not on the American people, not on their health care, their groceries, or their housing is worth the cost — come to Congress and make his case for this war.’

In a statement posted to X this weekend, Paul noted that, ‘the constitution conferred the power to declare or initiate war to Congress for a reason, to make war less likely.’

Senator Tim Kaine speaks to reporters following the weekly Senate Democrat policy luncheon at the US Capitol on March 03, 2026 in Washington, DC

A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on February 28, 2026 in Tehran, Iran

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday, House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson argued that the ‘passage of a War Powers resolution right now would be a terrible, dangerous idea.’

A war powers vote in the House looms on Thursday. 

A new Daily Mail/J.L. Partners poll found the President’s approval now stands at 44 percent, down four points since Friday and marking the lowest rating recorded in Daily Mail tracking to date.

The sharp decline comes as Americans grow increasingly uneasy about the spiraling conflict tearing apart the Middle East after six American troops were killed.

Congressman Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, introduced the War Powers Resolution in the House of Representatives as an effort to provide a check on Trump and urge against strikes without Congressional authorization.

Their play came days after a joint US/Israeli operation was launched under President Donald Trump’s leadership on Saturday to take out top Iranian military targets.

A Reuters/Ipsos survey, which was published Sunday, found 43 percent disapprove and 29 percent are undecided about Trump’s attack on Iran.

The poll also found that about half of Americans believe the president is too willing to use military force to advance U.S. interests. Overall, 56 percent of those surveyed said Trump’s readiness to deploy military power is excessive.

Massie, a libertarian Republican who has not been afraid to blast the Trump administration when he disagrees with them and has also been a lead advocate for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, wrote, ‘PSA: Bombing a country on the other side of the globe won’t make the Epstein files go away, any more than the Dow going above 50,000 will.’ 

In an eight-minute speech, given from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday about the actions, the President said he had ordered a ‘major’ strike on Iran after nuclear negotiations between the two countries had broken down.

‘Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,’ Trump said.

He, again, reiterated that the Iranian regime must never obtain a nuclear weapon.

While Trump’s military maneuvering so far in his second term – the January capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and the ‘Midnight Hammer’ attack on Iranian nuclear facilities in June – haven’t cost service members’ lives, he warned that Americans could die this time around.

Six service members have been killed in the conflict so far, four of whom have been named. 

‘Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill,’ Trump said on Saturday. ‘The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties.’

‘That often happens in war,’ the commander-in-chief added. ‘But we’re doing this not for now, we’re doing this for the future and it is a noble mission.’

Trump called out the Iranian regime and their proxies for creating ‘mass terror’ around the world, but he also pointed to the Tehran’s recent mass murder domestically, of protesters in their own streets.

In mid-January, the President had promised those protesters that ‘help is on the way.’

Videos of Iranians shouting ‘thank you, Trump’ spread like wildfire after the US/Israeli attacks.