Senate Democrats have tried to splinter off Republicans from their near-unified backing of Operation Epic Fury for months with a campaign of attrition, putting war powers resolution after war powers resolution on the floor ever since fighting began.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And after two months of trying, they finally got some in the GOP to flip on Trump with Sen. Jeff Merkley’s, D-Ore., latest attempt. Still, it wasn\u2019t enough to terminate ongoing operations in the Middle East.\u00a0<\/p>\n
GOP HOLDS WITH TRUMP ON IRAN WAR, BUT CRACKS EMERGE AS DEADLINE NEARS\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, for high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul,<\/a> R-Ky., who has consistently voted to handcuff Trump\u2019s war powers, all joined Democrats to end Operation Epic Fury.<\/p>\n It comes after Congress blew past the 60-day deadline<\/a> to weigh in on fighting in the region, and hours after Trump touched down in China.\u00a0<\/p>\n Top Trump administration officials, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth<\/a>, argued that the 60-day deadline was moot because fighting was paused under a ceasefire.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Trump, after rejecting the latest proposal from Iran, said on Tuesday that the fragile truce is on “life support.”<\/p>\n CONGRESS IGNORES KEY DEADLINE AS REPUBLICANS READY ‘RESTRAINT’ ON TRUMP’S WAR IN IRAN<\/a><\/p>\n War Secretary Pete Hegseth forcefully denied allegations that he or others may have profited from the war with Iran during a heated Senate exchange. (Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “I would call it the weakest, right now, after reading that piece of garbage they sent us \u2014 I didn’t even finish reading it,” Trump told reporters.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living,'” he said.<\/p>\n Whether Trump\u2019s trip overseas and the deadline now in the rearview mirror would have an impact on Wednesday remained an open question heading into the vote.<\/p>\n SENATE GOP MOVES TO BLOCK DEMS’ WAR POWERS PUSH, PRESERVE TRUMP’S AUTHORITY IN RARE MOVE<\/a><\/p>\n Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks to reporters as he walks into the Senate chamber in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 11, 2025. (Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader John Thune,<\/a> R-S.D., noted that Trump\u2019s trip to China would likely have national security implications, and said that it “would be best if everybody hung together and supported the president.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “People have their own minds about some of these issues, and this is not a new vote, it’s one we’ve had many times before, but you know, we’ll see what votes are,” Thune said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Congress has the option of voting on an Authorization for Use of Military Force<\/a> (AUMF) that would either authorize or halt any further fighting in Iran. Some Republicans argue that the move would give Trump a strong legal tool in making the case for the war.<\/p>\n Murkowski warned earlier this month that unless there were signs that a peace deal was nearing completion or further communication from the administration on their objectives, she would bring an AUMF to the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n During a hearing with Hegseth on Tuesday to pick through the president\u2019s staggering, $1.5 trillion budget request for the Pentagon,<\/a> Murkowski asked Hegseth if he believed it would “be helpful to the president if it was made clear that, in fact, the Congress did allow, did provide an AUMF” should fighting restart.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/president-donald-trump-may-4-2026.jpeg\")
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