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Topic:World Politics
Wed 24 Jun 2026 at 6:10am
It was the 10th time the US Senate has tried to stop the war. (AP: J Scott Applewhite)
The US Senate has approved a war powers resolution seeking to block US military action against Iran, in its 10th vote to rebuke the Trump administration.
The House approved the resolution earlier this month.
The resolution is largely symbolic and does not fully carry the force of law but reflects the growing concerns over the Iran war.
The US Senate has for the first time approved a war powers resolution seeking to block US military action against Iran, as politicians warily watch President Donald Trump's efforts to resolve a conflict that the administration launched on its own and now needs Congress to fund.
It was the 10th time the Senate has tried to stop the war, and the outcome, on a vote of 50–48, was a stunning turnaround from past efforts.
While the resolution is largely symbolic and does not fully carry the force of law, it reflects the growing concerns from a number of Republican politicians in both the House and Senate over both the war and the deal Mr Trump struck with Iran to end it.
The House approved the resolution earlier this month.
"Time after time, the vast majority of Senate Republicans sided with Trump and his war instead of the American people," said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
Mr Schumer said Americans had paid the price for "Trump's historic blunder in Iran. It'll go down in the history books as one of the worst foreign policy forays America has ever made."
Chuck Schumer says Donald Trump has made a "historic blunder" in Iran. (AP: J Scott Applewhite)
In the past, as many as four Republican senators have voted for the war powers resolutions, and they did so on Tuesday, local time: Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
One Democrat, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, voted against.
On this vote, the absence of two Republicans, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was admitted to the hospital recently for an undisclosed matter, left the Republicans without a full majority to halt the effort.
Senator Dave McCormick also missed the vote.
The vote also comes as the Pentagon is seeking $US80 billion ($110 billion) from Congress mostly for the Iran war as it backfills munitions and stockpiles.
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Mr Trump himself is headed to the Capitol this week to meet with Republican senators as Vice-President JD Vance has been overseas working to negotiate with Iran to end its nuclear ambitions — which had been among the stated rationales for the war.
The president is not pleased with Republicans who have been critical of the deal he struck with Iran, according to one Republican senator granted anonymity to discuss the private dynamics.
The terms of the Iran deal are spelled out in a memorandum of understanding Mr Trump signed last week, starting a 60-day countdown for the sides to reach a broader agreement over ending Iran's nuclear program.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump spent the day meeting with workers in Macungie, Pennsylvania. (Reuters: Evelyn Hockstein)
But Republicans have particularly objected to the $US300 billion ($433 billion) fund to help Iran rebuild, which is far greater than the $1.7 billion ($2.4 billion) former president Barack Obama refunded the country under his administration's 2015 Iran deal.
"I believe President Trump is getting very poor advice on Iran," Senator Ted Cruz said last week on his podcast after the deal was made public.
Over and again, Democrats have been forcing votes on the Iran war, almost since the US and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran in late February.
Nearly each week they are in session, the Senate Democrats have put forward war powers resolutions, but they have failed to amass the majority needed for passage in the narrowly split chamber, where Mr Trump's Republican Party holds the majority.
The US claims "great progress" has been made with Iran during the first substantial talks to take place under the new deal to pause the war, but there are already conflicting messages from Iran.
The House pushed its own version to passage earlier this month, with four Republicans joining all Democrats in approving the war powers resolution, over the objections of House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican leadership.
While such resolutions do not go to the president for his signature, passage stands as a powerful, if symbolic, statement from Congress and a rebuke of the administration's military actions.
Senator Tim Kaine, the Democrat from Virginia who has led his party's efforts, said the pause in war fighting, as Mr Trump's team worked to shore up a fragile ceasefire, provided the perfect time for Congress to step back and assess "what should the next chapter be."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is also on Capitol Hill this week, seeking roughly $US80 billion ($110 billion) in supplemental funding to shore up defence supplies in the aftermath of the Iran war, which is drawing scrutiny when many Americans are reeling from high gas prices and costs of living.
The Pentagon early on had estimated the war cost $US11.3 billion during its first week, and experts have put the overall price tag at close to $US100 billion.
Pete Hegseth will seek supplemental funding to shore up defence supplies. (AP: Jacquelyn Martin)
The Defense Department's funding request is part of a broader beef-up of military money the White House wants as part of its budget request this year.
The Trump administration is seeking a 50 per cent increase in defence funding to $US1.5 trillion this year, including $US350 billion that it wants in a so-called budget reconciliation package.
Mr Johnson and Republican leaders are working to pass that package on their own, over the objections of Democrats, much the way they approved Mr Trump's big tax cuts bill last year.
The 2025 tax cuts package also included a sizeable increase of about $US175 billion for the military.
AP
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