Senate advances bill aimed at ending Iran war as Cassidy, after primary loss, flips to support it

The Senate advanced legislation on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) that seeks to force President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Iran war, as a growing number of Republicans defied the President’s wishes.

Since Mr. Trump ordered the attack on Iran at the end of February, Democrats have forced repeated votes on war powers resolutions that would require him to either gain congressional approval for the war or withdraw troops. Republicans had been able to muster the votes to reject those proposals, but Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, fresh off a primary election loss in which Mr. Trump endorsed his opponent, switched sides to deliver a crucial vote to pass the legislation.

The 50-47 vote tally demonstrated the small but crucial number of Republicans voting to halt the war with Iran. The legislation will get a vote on final passage, but the timing was not immediately clear.

Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska had all previously voted for similar war powers resolutions and did so again on Tuesday (May 19, 2026). Mr. Cassidy voted for the legislation for the first time.

After his primary election loss last week, Mr. Cassidy returned to Washington saying that he was proud of his work to uphold the Constitution and would carefully consider how he would vote on several priorities of the Trump administration.