Senate Blocks an Iran War Powers Resolution 49-50 as Democrats Force a Near-Weekly Vote

The Senate voted 49-50 on July 30, 2026 against discharging from the Foreign Relations Committee a war powers resolution offered by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., that would require President Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the fighting against Iran unless Congress specifically authorized it. Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted to advance the measure; Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against it. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who has voted both ways on earlier resolutions, opposed advancing this one.

Senate Democrats have forced near-weekly votes on similar measures since the war began in February, and only one — a nonbinding concurrent resolution — has cleared Congress. The repeated failures leave unresolved the constitutional question of who authorizes sustained combat operations, now in their sixth month, while giving Democrats a recurring record of where each senator stands.

The vote came a day after U.S. Central Command announced a 'heavy wave of strikes' on dozens of Iranian targets, which it described as a response to an attempted Iranian ballistic missile attack on U.S. forces. Roll Call reported 18 service members killed and more than 600 wounded to date.