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Republican resistance to Iran war grows in the Senate as Murkowski flips

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Republican resistance to Iran war grows in the Senate as Murkowski flips
PoliticsWorld NewsDonald Trump

Senate Republicans have again blocked Democratic legislation that would halt President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.

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Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. , the ranking member, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, prepare to hear from U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz on his 2027 budget request, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 30, 2026. Republican Sen.

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted against the war for the first time since it began at the end of February. Two other Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky, also voted against the war, as they had done previously. The war powers legislation ultimately failed to advance 49-50, with Sen.

John Fetterman of Pennsylvania the only Democrat to oppose it, yet the close tally reflected growing unease with Trump's war. Several other Republican senators have signaled they want Congress to weigh in on the direction of the conflict.

“There will be a day — and it might be soon, I believe — where this Senate will say to the president, ‘Stop this war,'" Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who has spearheaded his party's tactic of forcing repeated votes on the war, said before the vote.would have a slim chance of passing the House and would also certainly be vetoed by Trump.

But Democrats say the votes are about building political pressure on the president either to withdraw from the conflict or seek congressional authorization to wage the war.for the war and has circumvented legal requirements to gain approval from Congress to continue the military campaign. It claims that it has “terminated” hostilities with Iran because the U.S. has entered a ceasefire.

That posture has created tension between the Republican-controlled Congress and the White House because presidents under the War Powers Resolution of 1973 are required to obtain authorization from Congress after 60 days of engaging in a conflict. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers this week that the U.S. could start attacking Iran again without the White House seeking congressional approval. He told Murkowski during aMurkowski voiced skepticism about that argument.

She pointed to the troops and war ships deployed to the region, saying, “It doesn’t appear that hostilities have ended. ”Republican leadership has continued to back the war with Iran, arguing that the stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz that has blocked most commercial shipping puts more economic pressure on Iran than it does on the U.S. “Iran’s economy is on life support. Its leadership is eliminated,” said Sen.

John Barrasso, the No. 2 Republican in leadership, during a floor speech Wednesday. He also argued that the Democratic effort on the war is all about undermining Trump. Forcing the issue just as he arrived in China for a summit would “pull out the rug from under him,” Barrasso said. Still, Republicans are also growing uneasy about the high gas prices, especially as the November elections draw near.

Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, said Wednesday he’d prefer that the two branches of government work out the constitutional issues instead of a congressional war powers vote or a potential challenge in court. The two sides should sit down together and say “we have shared constitutional responsibilities,” Rounds said.

Democrats plan to keep forcing weekly votes on war powers resolutions and are looking ahead to put limitations on Trump during the debate over annual legislation that authorizes and funds the military. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat who sponsored Wednesday's resolution, told reporters that he believes there is an “erosion of support, erosion of enthusiasm, an increase in skepticism” about the war from Republicans. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press.

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Republican resistance to Iran war grows as Murkowski flipsRepublican resistance to Iran war grows as Murkowski flipsSenate Republicans have again blocked Democratic legislation that would halt President Donald Trump’s war with Iran. Yet the number of GOP senators voting against the war grew in the roll call Wednesday. Republican Sen.
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Republican resistance to Iran war grows in the Senate as Murkowski flipsRepublican resistance to Iran war grows in the Senate as Murkowski flipsSenate Republicans have again blocked Democratic legislation that would halt President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.
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Republican resistance to Iran war grows in the Senate as Murkowski flipsRepublican resistance to Iran war grows in the Senate as Murkowski flipsSenate Republicans have again blocked Democratic legislation that would halt President Trump’s war with Iran.
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Republican resistance to Iran war grows in the Senate as Murkowski flipsRepublican resistance to Iran war grows in the Senate as Murkowski flipsRepublican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted against the war for the first time since it began at the end of February.
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