Senate

GOP senators warn Iran war funding faces uphill climb

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by Alexander Bolton - 05/14/26 6:00 AM ET

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by Alexander Bolton - 05/14/26 6:00 AM ET

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Republican senators are warning that any request from President Trump for tens of billions of dollars to pay for the Iran war will have a tough time passing the Senate, as patience wanes over what they say is the lack of a clear plan to end the conflict.

GOP senators say additional funding likely won’t have the votes to pass unless Trump comes to Congress with a formal request for authorization, or at least a clear plan to end the war soon.

The big problem is that Trump seems to have no easy way of ending the war while Iran has a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of global oil supplies travel.

“I think the supplemental is in big trouble. I think that’s one of the reasons we haven’t seen a formal supplemental request. I think that’s going to be a very heavy lift,” said a Republican senator who requested anonymity to comment on growing GOP skepticism about the war.

Three Republican senators on Wednesday voted to advance a Democratic-sponsored resolution under the 1973 War Powers Act directing Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran, even though Senate Republican leaders urged them to vote against the measure.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who previously voted against motions to advance a resolution directing Trump to end the conflict, shifted her stance and joined Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in voting with the Democrats to rein in Trump’s war-making authority.

“We have now surpassed the 60-day limit for hostilities without congressional authorization, and the administration has asserted that hostilities have ended, despite the blockade and continued fire directed at members of the U.S. Armed Forces, as well as our assets, allies, and partners. The administration’s own position removes any justification for keeping our servicemembers in harm’s way without congressional authorization,” Murkowski said in a statement explaining her vote.

Republican senators say that alarm over the protracted nature of the conflict and its impact on fuel prices is running more deeply in the Senate GOP conference than reflected by those three votes.

“Patience is running out. The public pressure is the big thing. Every time senators go home, they hear from voters who are not in favor of the war. Independents absolutely hate it and the energy prices are really starting to hurt,” said a GOP senator, who requested anonymity to comment about colleagues’ desire to find a quick off-ramp to the conflict.

Trump initially said the war would last four to five weeks but on Wednesday it reached its 75th day.

Another Republican senator warned that passing an emergency supplemental for the war will be “a difficult lift” and said any funding request will give GOP colleagues a chance to pump the brakes on the conflict in a way they haven’t felt comfortable doing through the War Powers Act.

“The War Powers Act is murky, Congress’s authority to appropriate is firm,” said the lawmaker, who added that Republican senators would use any supplemental funding request from the White House to demand answers about ending the conflict.

“We’re not going to let this opportunity go by the wayside without getting answers, which the administration hasn’t provided to date,” the source said.

Most Republican senators don’t want to undercut Trump’s authority as commander-in-chief by voting for a Democratic resolution forcing the president to withdraw forces.

At the same time, some are warning that they won’t pay to extend the conflict if Trump doesn’t seek formal authorization.

Trump argued in a May 1 letter to Congress that the hostilities that began on Feb. 28 “have terminated,” arguing the ceasefire announced with Iran had effectively stopped the clock on the 60-day window established by the War Powers Act. That law allows the president to deploy troops without congressional authorization.

But Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) on Wednesday said he’s not buying those claims.

“I don’t think there’s any question in my mind that it’s expired,” he said of the 60-day window.

Curtis said he voted against the Democratic-sponsored war powers resolution on Wednesday because he saw it as a show vote but warned that he’s not going to support additional funding unless Trump seeks authorization for the conflict from the Senate and House.

“My ability is to not fund the war after 60 days and I’m serious about that,” he told The Hill.

If Curtis joins Murkowski, Collins and Paul in voting against supplemental funding for the war, it will put such a measure on the brink of defeat.

Paul said the “60-day deadline seemed to shift things a little bit,” referring to Murkowski’s vote.

He predicted that more Republicans will turn against the conflict if Trump resumes bombing ope