Fetterman Casts Deciding Vote Against Resolution to Rein In Trump’s War on Iran

Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size. Conservative Democrat Sen. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) has cast the deciding vote to defeat yet another Senate war powers resolution aimed at reining in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, just hours after the House passed a provision to do so. The resolution, introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), failed to advance in a 47 to 49 vote on Thursday. The resolution would require the U.S. to withdraw from hostilities against Iran until the action was authorized by Congress. This is the 12th attempt in the Senate to pass such legislation. “The day after starting the Iran war, Trump said it would last ‘four to five weeks.’ It’s now been 146 days,” said Van Hollen . “Thousands of civilians have been killed. Prices are spiking again. We must end this war.” Fetterman, who has centered his brand around being vehemently pro-Israel, was the only Democrat to vote “no.” If he had voted “yes,” the vote would have ended in a tie. Last week, Fetterman said that he would leave the Democratic Party if it moved to “officially become the anti-Israel party.” Related Story News | War & Peace Trump Threatens “Massive” Attack of Unprecedented Proportion on Iran The president said that Iran “wants to negotiate,” but “they haven’t received enough pain yet.” By Sharon Zhang , T ruthout July 23, 2026 Truthout “Democrats, we’ve always — should support Israel. That’s our special ally, you know?” he said. Israel, which has been pushing for war with Iran for decades, is currently sitting out as the U.S. continues bombing the country, with one Israeli government official saying that this arrangement is “best” for them. Meanwhile, one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), broke with the party in voting to advance the resolution. Four other Republicans did not vote: Senators Katie Britt (Alabama), Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Rand Paul (Kentucky). During the ceasefire in June, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Collins, Paul, and Murkowski all voted to advance a resolution to stop the war. This caused the Senate to pass the war powers legislation for the first time during the current war, in a 50 to 48 vote. However, the White House was livid over the vote. President Donald Trump berated the Republicans who voted for the legislation, calling them “losers” and singling out Cassidy as a “lunatic.” In a stunning reversal, the Senate then voted against the legislation the next day, sinking the measure 47 to 50. Cassidy, who had previously protested the lack of briefings to Congress on the war, flipped his vote after being chewed out by Trump. Paul switched his vote to “present,” saying that the “hostilities seem to be over.” Trump then thanked Paul and Cassidy for switching their votes in a post on Truth Social. Thursday’s vote came just hours after the House voted to pass its own war powers resolution, 214 to 208 . The resolution garnered support from 210 Democrats and four Republicans. However, just the day before, the House also passed a bill with $73 billion in supplemental funding for the Pentagon that’s expected to go toward the war efforts. The legislation passed 216 to 214 in a largely party line vote, with two Republicans — Representatives Warren Davidson (Ohio) and Thomas Massie (Kentucky) — voting “no.” Fundraiser Deadline: Missed Truthout is one of only a few platforms for justice-oriented, grassroots journalism. Today, as political censorship from the right intensifies, we have no choice but to ask for your help. We missed our fundraising deadline, but there’s still time to help us meet our basic operating expenses before the end of the month. If you can support Truthout with a one-time or monthly donation, you will make a significant impact on our work. Anything you can do makes a difference — we appreciate your support. Share Share via Facebook Facebook Circle Icon Share via Bluesky Bluesky Circle Icon Share via Flipboard Flipboard Circle Icon Share via Mail Mail Circle Icon Share via Print More Share via Threads Share via Reddit Reddit Cirlce Icon Share via Pocket Pocket Circle Icon Share via Linkedin LinkedIn Circle Icon Share via Twitter Twitter Circle Icon Republish Republish This Article for Free Republishing Guidelines This article is licensed under Creative Commons ( CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 ), and you are free to share and republish under the following terms: Required: Required: You must credit Truthout and retain our links, as follows: "This article was originally published by Truthout." Required: You must preserve the article exactly as it appears on our site. You cannot edit, shorten or otherwise alter the content. Required: You must clearly credit the author(s) and retain their byline. Prohibited: You cannot republish our photographs or illustrations without specific permission. Prohibited: You cannot use this work for commercial purposes. Article HTML Republish HTML code for copying <h1>Fetterman Casts Deciding Vote Against Resolution to Rein In Trump’s War on Iran</h1> By Sharon Zhang This article was originally published by <a href src="https://truthout.org/articles/fetterman-casts-deciding-vote-against-resolution-to-rein-in-trumps-war-on-iran/">Truthout</a> The vote came just hours after the House voted to pass its own war powers resolution, 214 to 208. Conservative Democrat Sen. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) has cast the deciding vote to defeat yet another Senate war powers resolution aimed at reining in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, just hours after the House passed a provision to do so. The resolution, introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1192/vote_119_2_00207.htm">failed</a> to advance in a 47 to 49 vote on Thursday. The resolution <a href="https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/119th-congress_senate_joint_resolution_180.pdf">would require</a> the U.S. to withdraw from hostilities against Iran until the action was authorized by Congress. This is the 12th attempt in the Senate to pass such legislation. “The day after starting the Iran war, Trump said it would last ‘four to five weeks.’ It’s now been 146 days,” <a href="https://x.com/ChrisVanHollen/status/2080314848332685568">said Van Hollen</a>. “Thousands of civilians have been killed. Prices are spiking again. We must end this war.” Fetterman, who has centered his brand around being vehemently pro-Israel, was the only Democrat to vote “no.” If he had voted “yes,” the vote would have ended in a tie. Last week, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-fetterman-says-ll-leave-democratic-party-officially-becomes-anti-i-rcna587859">Fetterman said</a> that he would leave the Democratic Party if it moved to “officially become the anti-Israel party.” “Democrats, we’ve always — should support Israel. That’s our special ally, you know?” he said. Israel, which has been pushing for war with Iran for decades, is currently sitting out as the U.S. continues bombing the country, with one Israeli government official <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/smotrich-says-us-fighting-iran-as-israel-sits-back-is-best-for-us/">saying</a> that this arrangement is “best” for them. Meanwhile, one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), broke with the party in voting to advance the resolution. Four other Republicans did not vote: Senators Katie Britt (Alabama), Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Rand Paul (Kentucky).  During the ceasefire in June, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Collins, Paul, and Murkowski <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/senate-again-set-to-vote-on-war-powers-resolution-to-halt-iran-conflict">all voted</a> to advance a resolution to stop the war. This caused the Senate to pass the war powers legislation for the first time during the current war, in a 50 to 48 vote. However, the White House was livid over the vote. President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/senate-republicans-reject-war-powers-resolution-after-trump-berates-them-at-capitol-meeting">berated</a> the Republicans who voted for the legislation, calling <a href="https://apnews.com/article/senate-republicans-trump-vote-reject-war-powers-0f1fa8189c275188a71ed02cc8c3270d">them “losers”</a> and singling out Cassidy as a “lunatic.”  In a stunning reversal, the Senate then voted against the legislation the next day, sinking the measure 47 to 50. Cassidy, who had previously protested the lack of briefings to Congress on the war, flipped his vote after being chewed out by Trump. Paul switched his vote to “present,” saying that the “hostilities seem to be over.” Trump then thanked Paul and Cassidy for switching their votes in a post on Truth Social. Thursday’s vote came just hours after the House voted to pass its own war powers resolution, <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2026282">214 to 208</a>. The resolution garnered support from 210 Democrats and four Republicans. However, just the day before, the House also passed a bill with <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/house-republicans-adopt-95-billion-package-for-the-iran-war-and-trumps-priorities">$73 billion in</a> supplemental funding for the Pentagon <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/22/iran-war-funding-bill">that’s expected to go toward</a> the war efforts. The <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2026281">legislation passed</a> 216 to 214 in a largely party line vote, with two Republicans — Representatives Warren Davidson (Ohio) and Thomas Massie (Kentucky) — voting “no.” <hr> This <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/fetterman-casts-deciding-vote-against-resolution-to-rein-in-trumps-war-on-iran/">article</a> was originally published by <a href="https://truthout.org">Truthout</a> and is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)</a>. Please maintain all links and credits in accordance with our <a href="https://truthout.org/republishing-policy">republishing guidelines</a>. Copy this HTML code to republish the article on your website Close Copy HTML This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) , and you are free to share and republish under the terms of the license. Sharon Zhang Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering international affairs, politics, and labor. She has a master’s degree in environmental studies. She can be found on Twitter and Bluesky . Truthout

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