Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Jim Risch (R\u2013Idaho) has never believed that now is the right time to vote on war with Iran. “There is no clear line of delineation between actual war and the use of kinetic force,” he <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> during a war powers debate in 2020, adding that President Donald Trump has used force “very sparingly” against Iran. “This is not the start of a forever war,” Risch <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> after Trump launched a one-off air raid against Iran in June 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now that Trump <\/span>has<\/span><\/i> started an undeniable, no-kidding war with no clear ending, Risch <\/span>believes<\/span><\/a> that a war powers resolution would unfairly tell the President to “put your tail between your legs and run.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Risch got what he wanted on Wednesday night when the Senate voted 47\u201352 against a war powers resolution, which would have forced the president to either get congressional approval for the war or end it. It was the fourth attempt to pass a war powers resolution in the Senate since the war began. Every single one went exactly the same way: All Republicans except libertarian-adjacent Sen. Rand Paul (R\u2013Ky.) voted for the war, and all Democrats except the <\/span>pro-Israel heavyweight<\/span><\/a> Sen. John Fetterman (D\u2013Pa.) voted against the war.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Thursday morning, the same resolution failed in the House of Representatives in the same way, with every Democrat except Rep. Jared Golden (D\u2013Maine) voting to end the war, and every Republican except for the libertarian-adjacent Rep. Thomas Massie (R\u2013Ky.) voting to continue it.<\/p>\n

The U.S. and Iran have agreed to a temporary ceasefire to allow for peace talks. After walking out<\/a> of negotiations last weekend, the Trump administration declared it was enforcing a blockade<\/a> on Iranian ports. Trump and his advisers <\/span>insist<\/span><\/a> that they are ready to <\/span>resume fighting<\/span><\/a> once the ceasefire expires next week. “We are reloading with more power than ever before. We are locked and loaded,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters<\/a> on Thursday morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Members of Congress are more supportive of the war than the people who elected them. On average, polls at the beginning of the war <\/span>showed<\/span><\/a> that 43 percent of Americans disapproved of it, compared to only 35 percent who approved. When the U.S. and Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire on April 8, disapproval <\/span>stood<\/span><\/a> at 53\u201338. A poll released by Reuters and Ipsos on Tuesday <\/span>shows<\/span><\/a> that only 24 percent of Americans think the war has been worth it, and 54 percent think that the war has made their <\/span>personal<\/span><\/i> financial situation worse.<\/span><\/p>\n