Congress taking first votes on Iran war as debate rages about US goals
[March 04, 2026]
By STEPHEN GROVES, LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate is headed towards a vote Wednesday on
President Donald Trump's decision to embark on a war against Iran, an
extraordinary test in Congress for a conflict that has rapidly spread
across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy.
The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, gives lawmakers an
opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks
are carried out. The Senate resolution and a similar bill being voted on
in the House later this week face unlikely paths through the
Republican-controlled Congress and would almost certainly be vetoed by
Trump even if they were to pass.
Nonetheless, the votes marked a weighty moment for lawmakers. Their
decisions on the five-day-old war — which Trump entered without
congressional approval — could determine the fates of U.S. military
members, countless other lives and the future of the region.
“Wars without clear objectives do not remain small. They get bigger,
bloodier, longer and more expensive,” said Senate Democratic leader
Chuck Schumer at a news conference Tuesday. “This is not a necessary
war. It’s a war of choice.”
Trump administration scrambles for congressional support
After launching a surprise attack against Iran on Saturday, Trump has
scrambled to win support for a conflict that Americans of all political
persuasions were already wary of entering. Trump administration
officials have been a frequent presence on Capitol Hill this week as
they try to reassure lawmakers that they have the situation under
control.
“We are not going to put American troops in harm’s way,” Secretary of
State Marco Rubio told reporters in a raucous news conference at the
Capitol Tuesday.
But six U.S. military members were killed over the weekend in a drone
strike in Kuwait.
Trump has also not ruled out deploying U.S. ground troops. He has said
he is hoping to end the bombing campaign within a few weeks, but his
goals for the war have shifted from regime change to stopping Iran from
developing nuclear capabilities to crippling its navy and missile
programs.
“I think they are achieving great success with what they've done so
far,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday, adding that what
happens next in the country will be “largely up to the Iranian people.”
Almost all Republican senators were readying to vote Wednesday against
the war powers resolution to halt military action, but a number still
expressed hesitation at the idea of deploying troops on the ground in
Iran.
“I don’t think the American people want to see troops on the ground,”
said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., as he exited a classified briefing
Tuesday. He added that Trump administration officials “left open that
possibility,” but it wasn't an option they were emphasizing.
Lawmakers to go on record
The votes in Congress this week represented potentially consequential
markers of just where lawmakers stand on the war as they look ahead to
midterm elections and the consequences of the conflict.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives for a briefing for lawmakers
on Iran at a secure room in the basement of the Capitol in
Washington, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
“Nobody gets to hide and give the president an easy pass or an
end-run around the Constitution,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, the Virginia
Democrat leading the war powers resolution. “Everybody's got to
declare whether they're for this war or against it.”
Republican leaders have successfully, though narrowly, defeated a
series of war powers resolutions pertaining to several other
conflicts that Trump has entered or threatened to enter. This one,
however, is different.
Unlike Trump's military campaigns against alleged drug boats or even
Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, the attack on Iran represents an
open-ended conflict that is already ricocheting across the region.
For Republicans who are used to operating in a political party
dominated by Trump and his promises of keeping the U.S. out of
foreign entanglements, the moment represented a bit of whiplash.
“War is ugly, it always has been ugly, but we're taking out a regime
that has been trying to attack us for quite some time,” said Sen.
Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who has
long pushed Trump to engage overseas, argued that the widening
conflict represented an opportunity for Arab and European countries
to join in the fight against Iran and the militant groups it
supports.
“I don’t mind people being on record as to whether or not they think
this is a good idea,” he told reporters, but also argued that too
much power over the military was ceded to Congress in the War Powers
Act, which mandates that presidents must withdraw troops from a
conflict within 90 days if there is no congressional authorization.
House vote looms
On the other side of the Capitol, House leaders were also readying
for an intense debate over the war followed by a vote Thursday.
"I do believe we have the votes to defeat it, I certainly hope we
do,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said after an all-member briefing on
Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he expected
a strong showing from Democrats in favor of the war powers
resolution.
As lawmakers emerged from a closed-door briefing Tuesday night, Rep.
Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, implored the Trump administration to “come to Congress”
and speak directly to the American people about the rationale for
the war.
His voice filled with emotion as he said, "Our young men and women's
lives are on the line."
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