Rare Bipartisan Rebuke: US Senate Urges Trump to End Military Operations in Iran

The United States Senate on Tuesday (23/6) passed a resolution directing President Donald Trump to end US military action against Iran, marking a rare bipartisan rebuke of the White House as the administration pushes for peace with Tehran. The largely symbolic resolution was approved by a 50-to-48 vote in the Republican-controlled Senate, having previously passed the House of Representatives with support from Republican members. As a concurrent resolution, it does not require Trump’s signature and its legal force remains debated. The vote reflects concerns in Congress over the war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. It also represents one of the few occasions when Republican members have broken with the president and voted alongside the opposition, signalling that some congressional Republicans are increasingly sceptical of US military operations in Iran. Trump criticised the largely symbolic congressional resolution, calling it ‘ill-timed and meaningless’. ‘So, I have Iran on the ropes, ready to fall… and the US Senate decides to hold an ill-timed and meaningless War Powers Act vote,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. ‘These senators just made my job more difficult, but I will get it done, one way or another, because I always get it done!’ House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump ally, called the vote a ‘very dangerous prospect’ amid negotiations with Tehran. The vote took place as a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed three out of four Americans do not believe a war with Iran is worth the cost. A majority of respondents also said a ceasefire with Tehran would likely be unsustainable. Several Republican members also voiced unease about the conflict and its economic costs, while Democrats maintained that the president had violated the Constitution by launching military operations without congressional approval. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is seeking to convert an initial peace deal with Tehran into a final agreement covering Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief, and shipping access through the Strait of Hormuz. Those negotiations remain ongoing.