US Senate advances resolution to curb Trump’s power to wage war on Iran

WASHINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th May, 2026) The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to advance a war powers resolution aimed at forcing President Donald Trump to end the war in Iran unless he receives Congressional authorization to continue it.

Tuesday’s 50-47 vote marks the first time the chamber has advanced the bill, the eighth attempt at doing so since the conflict began in February.

Four Republicans joined all but one of the Senate’s Democrats in voting to pass the bill.

The vote showed that a small but growing number of Republicans are increasingly uneasy with a war that shows no signs of ending, amid a fragile ceasefire, and are willing to challenge the president, US media reports highlighted.

“This president is like a toddler playing with a loaded gun,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was quoted as saying before the vote.

“If there was ever a time to support our war powers resolution to withdraw troops from hostilities with Iran, it’s now,” he added.

The result was also represented success for lawmakers who have been arguing that Congress, not the president, should have the power to send troops to war, as spelled out in the US Constitution, it was pointed out.

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However, it was only a procedural vote, and the resolution faces steep hurdles if it is ever to go into effect. Three Republicans were absent during the vote on Tuesday, and their votes would be enough to defeat the measure if they maintain their stance in favour of the war.

But even if the resolution is eventually passed by a vote of the 100-member Senate, it must also pass the Republican-led House of Representatives and garner two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate to survive an expected Trump veto.

Trump’s Republicans have blocked seven previous attempts to advance similar resolutions in the Senate this year. They have also stopped three war powers resolutions by narrow votes in the House this year.

Yet, the vote on Tuesday underscores growing pressure on the president, as the war on Iran, launched by the US and Israel in late February, continues to wreak havoc on the global energy market and the cost of living at home.