US Senate Passes Resolution to End War on Iran, Enraging Trump
In a rare moment, the United States Senate passed a resolution calling for an end to the war against Iran, infuriating President Donald Trump. Trump described the symbolic resolution, passed on Tuesday (23/6) local time, as ill-timed and meaningless. The War Powers Resolution was approved by the Senate with 50 votes in favour and 48 against.
“So I have Iran ‘cornered’, ready to fall, willing to give us almost anything, and for the first time in decades, greatly respecting the United States and its president, ME, and the United States Senate decides to hold a War Powers Act vote at the wrong time and meaninglessly,” Trump said in a statement via Truth Social. “Telling the world’s number one state sponsor of terror that the United States does not like what I am doing to them, and that I should stop, and in doing so has given aid and comfort to the enemy,” he added.
Trump then lashed out at the four Republican senators who changed their stance to support the resolution alongside Democratic senators in the vote. He explicitly called the Republican senators “losers”. “Four Republican losers voted with the Dumocrats,” he said, using a play on words to refer to the Democratic Party. “And Iran is asking my people, ‘What does this all mean?’ These senators are making my job harder, but I will get it done, one way or another, because I always get it done!” Trump asserted in his statement.
The Senate passed the War Powers Resolution on Tuesday local time, instructing Trump to end hostilities against Iran unless Congress authorises further military action. The resolution essentially aims to prevent a new war between the US and Iran. The Senate approved the resolution with 50 votes in favour and 48 against, following its earlier passage in the House of Representatives. The majority support was secured after four Republican senators—Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Rand Paul—joined Democrats in backing the resolution. One Democratic senator voted against it, while two other Republicans abstained.
The practical impact of this move remains unclear, given that the US and Iran have already reached a temporary peace agreement. However, this resolution marks the strongest symbolic rejection of war by Congress, after nine previous votes failed to secure a majority.