Senate Blocks War Powers Resolution for Fourth Time, Affirming Trump's Iran War Authority

In a 47-52 vote, Senate Republicans block a Democratic war powers resolution that would have required Congressional authorization for Trump's Iran war — the fourth such rejection this year, as 13 US servicemembers have died and gas prices have risen by over a dollar.

On April 15, 2026, the US Senate voted 47-52 to reject a war powers resolution that would have required President Trump to withdraw US forces from the conflict with Iran unless Congress formally authorized the war. It was the fourth consecutive rejection of such a resolution since the war began on February 28. Republicans largely backed Trump's war authority, though Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the lone Democrat to vote against the resolution. Democrats argued the war was illegal and unjustified: Senator Jeff Merkley called it "unjustified, unpopular and costly" and Senator Tammy Duckworth's office noted that 13 US servicemembers had been killed and hundreds more injured since the war began. Congressional analysts noted that gas prices had risen more than a dollar nationally since February, inflation was spiking, and that no legislative mechanism remained to constrain the president's war-making. Some Republican senators privately expressed anxiety about the prolonged conflict but declined to break with the party. The vote reflected a broader partisan divide: polling showed most Republicans supported the war while majorities of Democrats and independents opposed it.