{"id":58641,"date":"2026-04-09T03:41:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=58641"},"modified":"2026-04-09T03:41:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:41:25","slug":"as-trump-iran-truce-frays-dem-leaders-pursue-yet-another-round-of-war-powers-votes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/09\/as-trump-iran-truce-frays-dem-leaders-pursue-yet-another-round-of-war-powers-votes\/","title":{"rendered":"As Trump-Iran Truce Frays, Dem Leaders Pursue Yet Another Round of War Powers Votes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-genocide-iran-war-powers-dems\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">accusations<\/a> of cowardly delays, Democratic leaders in the US Congress moved Wednesday toward a vote on yet another war powers resolution aimed at stopping President Donald Trump from waging more unauthorized war on Iran as the tenuous day-old Mideast ceasefire unravels.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced Wednesday that Democrats will force a vote on a war powers resolution when upper chamber lawmakers reconvene next week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCongress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment,\u201d Schumer said during a press conference at his New York office. \u201cNo president, Democrat or Republican, should take this country to war alone. Not now. Not ever.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This will be the FOURTH time we\u2019ve forced a War Powers vote. <br \/>\u00a0<br \/>This time, after threats from <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@POTUS<\/a> to extinguish an entire civilization, Republicans must join us in voting to end this war once and for all.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>Our country is worse off because of Trump\u2019s strategic ineptitude.\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LFVBUQiHUJ\">https:\/\/t.co\/LFVBUQiHUJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenSchumer\/status\/2041939411168805037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"rm-col-center col sm-mb-1\">\n<div class=\"widget__body clearfix sm-mt-1\">\n<div class=\"body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body css-listicle-body-2676682358\" data-headline=\"As Trump-Iran Truce Frays, Dem Leaders Pursue Yet Another Round of War Powers Votes\">\n<div class=\"body-description\" data-rm-calc-width=\"700\">\n<p>Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/jeffries.house.gov\/2026\/04\/08\/dear-colleague-on-permanently-ending-donald-trumps-reckless-war-of-choice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reiterated remarks<\/a> made during a Tuesday evening <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1yagUOxP3mA&amp;t=3s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interview<\/a> with CNN\u2019s Anderson Cooper, in which he said he\u2019s demanding House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) \u201cimmediately reconvene the House back into session\u201d so lawmakers can vote on the war powers resolution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA two-week ceasefire is insufficient,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cWe need a permanent end to Donald Trump\u2019s reckless war of choice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAssuming it doesn\u2019t happen this week, we\u2019ll go back into session next week and we will present a war powers resolution as soon as it becomes available to us to do so as a matter of privilege on the House floor,\u201d he continued. \u201cAll we need are a handful of Republicans to join us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe American people strongly oppose this reckless war of choice and know that we should not be spending billions of dollars to drop bombs in Iran while Republicans and Donald Trump are unwilling to spend a dime to actually make life more affordable for the American people,\u201d Jeffries added.<\/p>\n<p>The GOP-controlled House and Senate have rejected attempts to pass war powers resolutions, with Johnson denying that the US is even at war \u2013 a dubious argument used in as far back as the Korean War in order to skirt the constitutional requirement for congressional assent.<\/p>\n<p>Jeffries also announced Wednesday that House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has scheduled a Friday meeting online regarding \u201cTrump administration accountability and the 25th Amendment,\u201d which allows for the dismissal of a president who is incapacitated, unable, or unwilling to perform their duties.<\/p>\n<p>More than 80 Democratic lawmakers are <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/04\/07\/trump-iran-impeachment-25th-amendment-war-crimes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">urging<\/a> members of Trump\u2019s Cabinet to invoke the measure and remove him from office for his genocidal threats against Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Schumer\u2019s announcement came on the heels of a day that began with Trump\u2019s<a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-genocidal-threat-iran\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> genocidal threat<\/a> to wipe out Iran\u2019s civilization and ended with an <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-iran-israel-ceasefire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">agreement<\/a> for the US and Israel to grant broad concessions to Tehran \u2013 including a two-week pause in hostilities \u2013 in exchange for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of this happens when one man, especially a man acting as unhinged as Donald Trump, has unchecked power to wage war,\u201d Schumer said. \u201cHe backs himself into a corner with dangerous, escalating rhetoric.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe entire world holds its breath, wondering what\u2019s next going to come out of his mouth,\u201d Schumer said of Trump. \u201cAnd can he ever find a way out? A commander-in-chief who is truly in control would never have gotten into this colossal mess to begin with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There have been several unsuccessful attempts to pass an Iran war powers resolution, including a <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/iran-war-powers-act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bipartisan House effort<\/a> led by Reps. Ko Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and another spearheaded by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in the upper chamber. A handful of House Republicans supported the Khanna-Massie resolution, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) broke ranks to <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/iran-war-powers-resolution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vote against<\/a> the Kaine-Paul measure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRepublicans will once again have the opportunity to join Democrats and end this reckless war of choice,\u201d Schumer added. \u201cThe public must demand that Republicans join with us to approve the War Powers Act.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The renewed push for a war powers vote comes as the shaky Iran ceasefire is being <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/iran-hormuz-lebanon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">heavily tested<\/a> both by Israel\u2019s devastating attacks on Lebanon \u2013 which have reportedly killed or wounded more than 1,300 people over the past 24 hours \u2013 and Iran\u2019s refusal to allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p>Schumer said Wednesday that \u201cthis is one of the very worst military and foreign policy actions that the United States has ever taken.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe war made us worse in terms of control of the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d he argued, alluding to the ceasefire provision allowing Iranian control over the vital waterway and a $2 million-per-ship toll. \u201cThe war made us worse in terms of the strength of the Iranian regime. The war made us worse in terms of high gas prices&#8230; And the war made us worse because American credibility is <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/humiliating-poll-reveals-the-full-scale-of-trumps-global-reputation-disaster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">down the drain.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/avalon.law.yale.edu\/20th_century\/warpower.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">War Powers Resolution of 1973<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 also known as the War Powers Act\u2014was enacted during the Nixon administration toward the end of the US war on <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/vietnam\">Vietnam<\/a>, Cambodia, and Laos. The law empowers Congress to check the president\u2019s war-making authority by requiring the president to report any military action to Congress within 48 hours. It also mandates that lawmakers approve any troop deployments lasting longer than 60 days.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Iran, members of Congress have tried \u2013 <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/another-war-powers-resolution-fails\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">and failed<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 to pass multiple war powers resolutions limiting Trump\u2019s attacks on Venezuela, whose president was <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/nicolas-maduro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">kidnapped<\/a> during a brief US invasion in January.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After accusations of cowardly delays, Democratic leaders in the US Congress moved Wednesday toward a vote on yet another war powers resolution aimed at stopping President Donald Trump from waging more unauthorized war on Iran as the tenuous day-old Mideast ceasefire unravels. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced Wednesday that Democrats will force a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[806],"class_list":["post-58641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"0","custom_donate_message":"","subtitle":"\u201cA two-week ceasefire is insufficient,\u201d argued House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. \u201cWe need a permanent end to Donald Trump\u2019s reckless war of choice.\u201d"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/372"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58641"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58645,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58641\/revisions\/58645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58641"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=58641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}