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March 2026: The First War-Powers Votes of the Iran War

Evidence rating: CONFIRMED for the tallies, from the House Clerk and Senate roll calls. CONFIRMED for the White House and Speaker statements, from the BBC.

Before the strikes: the warnings on the record​

In the ten days before February 28, 2026, members of Congress in both parties said on the record that they did not want this war. A public document collected their posts (Lawmaker statements, February 2026); they are gathered on Lawmaker Statements Against the War. Rep. Ro Khanna wrote on February 18 that "Trump officials say there's a 90% chance of strikes on Iran" and promised a discharge motion to force a vote "before putting U.S. troops in harm's way" (Khanna on X). The figure came from an unnamed adviser quoted by Axios: "The boss is getting fed up... 90% chance we see kinetic action in the next few weeks" (as pasted by Nick Flor, February 19, 2026). An X summary on February 25 reported that "Top Democrats are working behind the scenes to stop a vote on the Khanna-Massie Iran war powers resolution" (X trend page). Two days later came a post that the resolution "has been sitting with Speaker Johnson since June 2025" (search snippet quoted on Threads, February 28, 2026).

February 28: the war begins without a vote​

The United States and Israel struck Iran on February 28, 2026, the start of Operation Epic Fury. The President's address that morning spoke of "massive and ongoing" operations and warned "The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties" (full transcript as posted by TheLastRefuge). House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries: "The framers of the United States Constitution gave Congress the sole power to declare war ... Donald Trump failed to seek Congressional authorization prior to striking Iran" (Chad Pergram on X). Sen. Tim Kaine: "The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers Resolution" (Reddit r/politics). Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader John Thune issued statements supporting the strikes (defendingthetruth.com, quoting a news report).

March 4: the Senate, 47 to 53​

The Senate rejected the motion to discharge S.J.Res. 104 (Kaine), 47 to 53 (Senate vote 46). Rand Paul was the only Republican yes; John Fetterman the only Democratic no. An AI tally that night: "52 Republicans + Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voted no ... 46 Democrats + Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) voted yes" (Grok on X). Commenters on the New York Times senator-by-senator chart noted that the Republican majority on the Foreign Relations Committee had held the resolution for the ten days the law allows (Lemmy thread).

March 5: the House, 212 to 219​

The House rejected H.Con.Res. 38 (Massie and Khanna), 212 to 219 (House roll call 85). Two Republicans voted yes: Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio. Four Democrats voted no: Jared Golden of Maine, Greg Landsman of Ohio, Henry Cuellar of Texas, and Juan Vargas of California (BBC, March 6, 2026).

What they said:

  • Davidson, a week earlier: "I have asked for a classified briefing defining the mission in Iran. In the absence of new information, I will support the War Powers resolution in the House next week. War requires Congressional authorization. There are actions short of war, but no case has been made" (Davidson on X). After the vote, in a statement quoted by the BBC: "President Trump's America First message was supposed to be a rejection of the globalist war machine."
  • Massie: "That debate is meant to be arduous. And that vote is meant to be hard" (Roll Call, March 5, 2026).
  • Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), switching to yes: "The President of the United States has said it's a war. The Secretary of War has said it's a war. We don't have to try to wordsmith this for the American people. They know it's a war" (Moskowitz on X).
  • Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), an Iranian-American: "I have spent my entire life opposing the Islamic Republic and its brutality...At the same time, as an American congresswoman, who swore an oath to the United States Constitution, I am deeply concerned by President Trump's decision to launch an illegal war" (Ryan Grim on X).
  • Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.): "I do not support the president's war of choice with Iran" (Roll Call).

The White House's reading​

After the House vote, the White House said: "Congress has reaffirmed the Commander-in-Chief's Constitutional authority to protect the American people from the Iranian regime's murderous ambitions and imminent threats." Speaker Johnson said passing the resolution would have been "a very serious misstep by Congress," and: "We are not at war. We have no intention of being at war. This is a limited operation." The President, the same day: "We want to fight now more than they do." The BBC also reported that "Some Republicans in the House and Senate said that while they blocked the resolution for now, they could change course if the war expands or drags on" (BBC).

March 18 and 24: the Senate again​

Senate Democrats forced two more votes, on S.J.Res. 118 (March 18) and S.J.Res. 116 (March 24), both rejected 47 to 53 (Senate 2026 roll-call list); one compiler attributes them to Sens. Cory Booker and Chris Murphy (Fernando Ruano Faxas on X). Sen. Patty Murray: "I just voted to END the war with Iran, but Republicans blocked our effort to stop this conflict. Why is there money for a war no one asked for, but no money for health care here at home? I'll keep voting to end this war again and again. NO WAR WITH IRAN" (Murray on X). Four days later one commentator put the result bluntly: "Congress gave up their war powers last week" (Clint Russell on X, March 22, 2026).

That week, Axios reported that "House Democrats did not force a vote this week to block President Trump from unilaterally waging war with Iran, partly due to concerns they lacked sufficient support" (Open Source Intel on X, March 26, 2026). And on March 25, Rep. Nancy Mace said after a House Armed Services briefing that "The justifications presented to the American public for the war in Iran were not the same military objectives we were briefed on today," as Republican committee chairs "hinted at a planned U.S. ground operation" (X trend page, March 25, 2026).

Status: Every member named on this page is alive, as are Donald Trump and Ryan Grim. This page reports votes and public statements.

Sources​

Research captures: twitter/t46__v543.md, t46__v544.md, t46__v547.md, t47__v551.md, t47__v553.md, t47__v554.md, t47__v556.md, t47__v557.md, t47__v558.md, t47__v562.md

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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