Congress strains over Iran vote

House Democrats are preparing a new vote this week to curb President Donald Trump’s Iran war powers after Republicans blocked a similar effort days before lawmakers returned to Washington. (politico.com) The planned House vote would be the first Iran war-powers floor action since March 5, when the chamber rejected House Concurrent Resolution 38 by 212 to 219. The measure said U.S. forces had to leave unauthorized hostilities against Iran unless Congress approved them, while preserving self-defense against an imminent attack. (congress.gov) (clerk.house.gov) The Senate took its own vote on March 4 and rejected a motion to discharge Senate Joint Resolution 104 by 47 to 53. Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, voted yes, and Senator John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, voted no. (senate.gov) (dailypress.senate.gov) A war-powers resolution is Congress’s formal tool for ordering an end to military action that lawmakers say was not authorized. The House measure and the Senate resolutions all center on the same constitutional fight: whether Trump can keep using force against Iran without a declaration of war or a separate authorization from Congress. (congress.gov 1) (congress.gov 2) The Iran fight is colliding with spending fights because Congress has been moving homeland security bills at the same time. House Republicans passed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for 2026 on March 5 by 221 to 209 after a rule vote that passed 211 to 209. (congress.gov) (clerk.house.gov 1) (clerk.house.gov 2) That bill ended the partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown that began on February 14, 2026, and funded agencies including Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (congress.gov) The funding fight did not end in March. House records show leaders had to bring up another rule on March 27 to handle the Senate amendment to the homeland security bill, and that resolution passed 213 to 203 after a 209 to 206 vote on the previous question. (clerk.house.gov) Democrats say the new Iran vote is needed because Congress has not approved a broader war. Senators Tim Kaine, Cory Booker, Chris Murphy, Adam Schiff, Tammy Baldwin, and Tammy Duckworth said on April 8 they would force another vote and called for Republicans to “be a check” on the president. (kaine.senate.gov) Republicans and Trump allies have argued the restrictions would limit the administration during active hostilities. Representative Rick Allen of Georgia said after the March 5 House vote that the resolution would “unnecessarily tie the hands of the Administration,” while backing the homeland security spending bill the same day. (allen.house.gov) The next test is simple and unresolved: whether Democrats can turn this week’s House floor vote into more than another symbolic count. March’s tallies showed bipartisan cracks, but not enough votes yet to force the White House to change course. (politico.com) (clerk.house.gov)