Overview
- Late Wednesday night the Senate failed to advance Sen. Tim Kaine’s resolution to force withdrawal of U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran, with the procedural motion losing 50–47 after two Republicans reversed earlier positions.
- Sen. Bill Cassidy voted against advancing the measure and Sen. Rand Paul recorded a present vote after a tense closed‑door lunch with President Trump and a private White House briefing from Vice President J.D. Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff.
- President Trump celebrated the outcome publicly and thanked senators who shifted their votes, while some Republicans credited leadership and White House briefings for changing their views.
- Legal and practical limits mean the resolution would likely have been symbolic even if it passed because the president was expected to veto and administrations dispute the reach of the 1973 War Powers Resolution.
- With the Senate recessed, diplomats are working under the Islamabad MOU’s 60‑day verification window and Congress still faces looming fights over a large Pentagon supplemental request and broader oversight of the Iran campaign.