Congress is set to vote next week on ending the U.S. military campaign in Iran in what will be an effective referendum on President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a new war in the Middle East.
Bipartisan efforts to have the House and Senate weigh in to forestall a possible Iran attack have been brewing for months and accelerated in recent weeks as the Pentagon undertook a massive buildup in the region. With American and Israeli munitions now striking Iranian targets, backers of the push to check Trump are calling for an immediate vote.
“The American people are tired of regime change wars that cost us billions of dollars and risk our lives,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is co-leading the House effort, said in a video message Saturday morning. “Every member of Congress must go on the record today on how they will vote.”
The lawmakers leading the effort to end the hostilities are casting the votes as an opportunity to put political pressure on Trump and his Republican allies in Congress, not as a definitive way to force the bombing to end. A succession of presidents have questioned the constitutionality of the 1973 war powers law the lawmakers are seeking to invoke, and similar recent efforts to restrain Trump from military strikes have failed.
Though many Democrats called Saturday for both chambers to return to session immediately, GOP leaders are not altering their plans, according to six people granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
The Senate is not scheduled to return to session until Monday night, with a vote on an Iran resolution expected as soon as Tuesday, according to another person granted anonymity to disclose private scheduling. The House isn’t scheduled to hold votes until Wednesday, and two people with knowledge of the plans said administration officials are likely to brief lawmakers before the Iran measure comes up Wednesday or Thursday.
In the early hours after the strikes Saturday, only a few Republican lawmakers indicated they might vote to end them. Several House Democrats said they would oppose the war powers push, effectively assuring a vote will fail.
But Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who is leading the House effort with Khanna, said in an interview it was instrumental to protect Congress’s constitutional role in declaring war and to hold the Trump administration accountable for its decision to put troops in harm’s way.
“Congressional debate and authorization is important to define the scope and objectives of the war for our military,” he said. “We owe this to our soldiers.”
Massie said the Saturday strikes have undermined some arguments he had heard against moving forward with a congressional vote.
“Some said limited attacks would not constitute war, but the President himself used the term ‘war’ last night,” he said, referring to a Trump video message released early Saturday morning. “And some said it would be premature to direct the President to withdraw from hostilities that hadn’t occurred yet, but we’ve obviously passed that point now.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who is leading the war powers push in the Senate with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), called the strikes “a colossal mistake” and urged Republicans to “immediately return to session” for a vote on his measure.
“Every single Senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action,” he said in a statement.
“As with all war, my first and purest instinct is [to] wish Americans soldiers safety and success in their mission,” Paul said in a X post. “But my oath of office is to the Constitution, so with studied care, I must oppose another Presidential war.”
Paul was the only Republican to support restraining Trump in June, after he launched strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Senators voted 53-42 to reject that measure, and there is no immediate indication the vote count will change.
Most Republicans weighing in Saturday sidestepped the possibility of a congressional vote entirely. One who did not, Sen. Thom Tills of North Carolina, said in a statement only that lawmakers would “determine whether a broader scope and further military action requires an authorization by Congress“ following a full briefing from the Trump administration.
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) reposted an X message Saturday from earlier in the week where he said “no case has been made” for military strikes and that he would support restraining Trump in “the absence of new information.”
In a more recent sign that congressional Republicans are hesitant to check Trump’s use of military force, the Senate ultimately voted down an effort to block further military operations in Venezuela after the January operation to remove authoritarian president Nicolas Maduro. Five GOP senators initially voted against the administration, allowing the measure to advance, but two later switched positions.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) said in an interview that it’s “just not true” that Trump is in violation of the 1973 war powers law, which includes a congressional notice requirement and a 60-day deadline for seeking lawmaker approval. He accused those pushing the vote — primarily Democrats, but also calling out Massie —- as “trying to undermine the United States of America because they hate President Trump.”
“We have men and women right now in harm’s way, and we have Democrats right now trying to undermine the commander-in-chief, which means they’re trying to undermine the military, and these people need to knock it off now,” he said.
Top Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and top members of the congressional Intelligence committees, all criticized Trump Saturday for acting without formal congressional approval.
“The Trump administration must explain itself to the American people and Congress immediately, provide an ironclad justification for this act of war, clearly define the national security objective and articulate a plan to avoid another costly, prolonged military quagmire in the Middle East,” Jeffries said, adding that Democrats are “committed to compelling a vote” on the Massie-Khanna measure.
But some Democrats are hesitant to place fetters on Trump as he moves to obliterate an Iranian regime they have long criticized.
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who was the only Democrat to oppose the June war powers effort, said in a Fox News interview Saturday morning that “I fully support these kind of things, and I’m proud to stand with our military and Israel through this.”
Democratic leaders in the House believe some moderate members of their caucus will oppose the Iran war powers resolution, according to three other people granted anonymity to describe internal conversations. House Democrats are set to discuss the measure and Trump’s military action on a caucus call Sunday night.
Rep. Greg Landsman of Ohio, a Democrat who has been supportive of Israel, plans to oppose the House war powers measure, a spokesperson confirmed Saturday.
“Thank you to our brave service members who are leading this effort, and I pray their work will finally free the people of Iran and those in the region from more violence or war,” Landsman posted after the strikes began.
Joe Gould, Connor O’Brien and Leo Shane III contributed to this report.
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