The United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28, 2026, beginning a conflict President Trump never sought congressional authorization for, which he labeled a 'skirmish' or 'short-term excursion.' Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the president must terminate unauthorized hostilities within 60 days of notifying Congress — a deadline that arrived May 1 — but Trump declared the clock 'paused' by a ceasefire, an argument legal experts widely contested. The Senate has now voted more than nine times on war powers resolutions to end or limit the conflict, with Republican defections growing each round; on May 19, four GOP senators helped advance a resolution 50-47 for the first time, though a June 16 follow-up vote narrowly failed 47-48. On June 17, Trump signed a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding with Iran at Versailles, extending the ceasefire 60 days and creating a framework for further negotiations — but Congress has not yet seen the full text and is now debating whether the MOU itself triggers a mandatory congressional review under the 2015 Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA). A final Senate floor vote on the Kaine war powers joint resolution remains pending and on a knife's edge.
Answer where you stand first — what you want and what you expect are different questions.