Senate Republicans on Wednesday beat back a fifth Democratic attempt to force an end to the war in the Middle East, blocking a vote to rein in President Donald Trump’s war authorities on the 54th day of the conflict.
The failed push came after Trump extended the fragile ceasefire for the next several days and said Iran’s government was "seriously fractured." Next week, the conflict will reach the 60-day mark, when Congress is required to weigh in under the War Powers Resolution.
The vote showed how little has changed in the Senate since the fighting began. Republicans have stayed largely unified against Democratic war powers resolutions, even as lawmakers grow more uneasy about the cost, the length and the end game of the war. Democrats have six more resolutions teed up, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said his caucus is "united and focused on ending the war in Iran" and would keep voting on the measures "again and again and again."
That pressure is building around the same deadline that may force a larger fight. At least three Senate Republicans have said they would not support extending the war beyond 60 days. Sen. Susan Collins said it was "very likely" she would not vote to continue hostilities, while Sens. Thom Tillis and John Curtis said they would not support extending the war past that point.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin was even blunter after the vote, saying, "This war has simply been a disaster, and there is absolutely no reason we should go full steam ahead back into it," a line that captured how sharply the debate has hardened in just over seven weeks.
Behind the scenes, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has been working on an Authorization for Use of Military Force that would give lawmakers a say on what comes next in Iran. That effort points to the same split visible on the floor: Republicans have not broken with Trump yet, but some are looking for a way to reclaim Congress’s role before the conflict crosses the 60-day line.
The next decisive moment is not another speech or another statement. It is the deadline itself. Once the war reaches 60 days, the Senate will have to decide whether to keep blocking Democrats, whether Republicans who have already signaled discomfort will hold, and whether a separate authorization can become the bridge between Trump’s ceasefire and whatever comes after it.
