Chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reports after President Trump's administration expressed confidence in Iran deal progress. while Trump issues warnings to the regime.
Senate Democrats scored another win in pushing back against PresidentDonald Trump'swar in Iran on Tuesday,. the symbolic victory won’t actually curb his war powers in the region.
Aided by absences from Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., Democrats and a handful of Republicans passed awar powers resolutionrebuking the conflict in Iran. It’s the same resolution. passed the House earlier this month in a rare display of House Republicans breaking with Trump.
Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska,. Bill Cassidy, R-La., joined nearly every Senate Democrat to adopt the resolution on a 50 to 48 vote.
But unlike several previous attempts in the Senate to curb Trump’s authority, the House-passed measure does not carry any legally binding weight. won’t go to the president’s desk for his signature, where it would likely be vetoed.
TRUMP SUFFERS RARE HOUSE DEFEAT AS BIPARTISAN VOTE MOVES TO WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM IRAN CONFLICT
President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. D.C., on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.(Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Still, after stumbling last week, Democrats notched another victory against the war.
The vote comes asCongress reels over the memorandumof understanding (MOU) signed between the U.S. and Iran that, for now, has allotted more time for officials to negotiate a longer-lasting peace deal.
Many Republicans recoiled at the drip-feed of information coming out about the deal. with some comparing it to former PresidentBarack Obama'sown Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker. R-Miss., shredded the MOU in a statement Thursday in which he cautioned that the agreement "negotiates away the victories ofOperation Epic Furyin ways that are completely out of step with the president's goals."
TOP SENATE REPUBLICAN RIPS INTO TRUMP'S IRAN DEAL, SAYS $300 BILLION MAKES OBAMA DEAL LOOK LIKE 'A PITTANCE'
Wicker took particular issue with the proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund, which he acknowledged wouldn’t be funded by taxpayers,. "would make Iran's payoff under President Obama's 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison."
Other Republicans aren’t thrilled with sanctions on Iranian oil being lifted. even temporarily, after years of keeping their oil business in a vice grip.
Senate Majority LeaderJohn Thune,R-S.D., said he wanted to "tie lifting sanctions or financial incentives to conditions on Iranian behavior,". acknowledged that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was a component of that.
IRAN WAR'S PRICE TAG HITS $80B — MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT CONGRESS WAS TOLD
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks to reporters as he walks into the Senate chamber in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 11, 2025.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
But he also said. the "objective here is always going to be Iranian compliance" with ending their nuclear program in exchange for financial incentives. And if the final deal does include an agreement touching Iran’s nuclear program, lawmakers will get to vote on it.
Congress is also gearing up to mull an $80 billion supplemental spending request from the Pentagon to cover the costs of the war. a figure that's more than double what War SecretaryPete Hegsethand the Pentagon comptroller told lawmakers during a hearing earlier this year.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., argued that as the MOU takes hold, now is the "perfect time for Congress to step back. ask ourselves the question of what should the next chapter be, rather than allowing one man to make that decision."
"If you have to come to us for diplomacy,. you have to come to us for money, you shouldn't be able to end-run us to initiate war on our own," Kaine said.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
Discussion
Sign in to join the thread, react, and share images.