The U.S. Senate failed to advance a resolution that would have limited President Trump‘s power to order strikes on Iran. Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, was the only Democrat to vote against it, and his decision drew significant anger from within his own party.
The vote came after the United States and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran, killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In response, Iranian counterstrikes killed six U.S. service members.
The resolution, led by Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, required that U.S. military force against Iran be stopped unless specifically authorized by Congress. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, it failed by a vote of 47 to 53, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to move forward. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to support it.
Fetterman’s lone vote exposed a real divide over nuclear threats and congressional war powers
Fetterman, who had previously applauded Trump’s comments on Iran during the State of the Union, posted on X to explain his position: “Every member in the U.S. Senate agrees we cannot allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. I’m baffled why so many are unwilling to support the only action to achieve that. Empty sloganeering vs. commitment to global security, which is it?”
Other Democrats pushed back hard. Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey compared the situation to the 2003 Iraq invasion. In a Senate floor speech, he said, “We’ve seen this before. A president manufactures an imminent threat, chooses to start a war with unclear objectives and uses America’s resolve as an excuse for war without end because they’ve got no plan to end it.”
Kim also noted that unlike Trump, President Bush at least sought congressional authorization. The broader conflict is already having economic consequences, as oil prices surging due to the Iran conflict are beginning to affect everyday Americans.
Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, who voted for the resolution, said that after a Senate briefing, it was “strikingly clear that there was no rational justification for military action and no imminent threat to the United States.” She added that the administration “has failed to define its goals, explain an exit strategy, or provide any long-term plan for what comes next.”
Senator Chris Coons of Delaware called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explain the lack of planning for the “protection and evacuation of Americans from their war of choice,” as U.S. citizens in the Middle East rushed to leave the region. Hegseth told reporters the U.S. is “accelerating, not decelerating” its military efforts.
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey wrote on social media that Congress cannot “simply roll over,” warning, “We should have learned from the last two decades of conflict in the Middle East that wars launched without clear goals and without an end-state in mind rarely end well.”
Meanwhile, both of Pennsylvania’s senators, Fetterman and Republican Dave McCormick, have supported Trump’s strikes. McCormick stated that “the president has given the ayatollahs a chance for a deal, and they have rejected a path to peace and prosperity.”
Trump has since declared the Iran power transition a success, even as all U.S.-backed leaders in the region have died. Under a 1973 law, Congress has the power to force a vote to withdraw troops or block strikes, and requires presidential authorization beyond 60 days. The U.S. House is expected to consider a similar resolution soon.
Published: Mar 5, 2026 04:09 pm