US Senate blocks resolution to end military role in Iran

The US Senate on Wednesday blocked a resolution that would have compelled President Donald Trump to withdraw American forces from hostilities against Iran and reasserted Congress’s constitutional authority to declare war, with the measure failing in a 47-50-1 vote after Republican leaders warned that congressional interference could undermine delicate ceasefire negotiations.

Republican maneuvering

Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who has previously backed similar Democratic-led efforts to constrain executive war powers, voted "present" on Wednesday, explaining that he sought to avoid disrupting potential peace talks while giving the administration flexibility. "Since hostilities seem to be over and the President asked me to give consideration to his negotiating position, I will do so," Paul said in a post on X ahead of the roll call. "My vote of present is a way to give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace." Trump later celebrated the result on Truth Social, incorrectly claiming the chamber had "changed its vote on Iran from 50-48 against, to 50-47 for" while thanking Majority Leader John Thune and warning that the outcome "puts Iran on notice!"

Shift in GOP opposition

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who advanced the measure from committee in May alongside Democrats, reversed his position and voted against it after receiving what he described as a "thorough" briefing from Vice President JD Vance and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on the conflict's current status. The Wednesday vote came just one day after the Senate adopted a separate War Powers Resolution by a narrow 50-48 margin, directing Trump to end hostilities unless Congress authorized further military action. Cassidy and Paul had joined Democrats in that Tuesday vote, while Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania opposed the measure.

Ongoing conflict

The consecutive votes come as Washington and Tehran pursue technical negotiations under a fragile 60-day ceasefire established by a June 17 memorandum of understanding between Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. That agreement followed the deadliest phase of fighting, which began when the US and Israel launched extensive military operations against Iranian facilities on Feb. 28. The initial assault prompted retaliatory strikes on American assets across the Middle East before a Pakistan-mediated truce took effect on April 8.