Pa. Sens. Fetterman, McCormick vote against effort to rein in Trump on Iran war

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the only Democrat in the Senate to vote against scaling back the war in Iran.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025 (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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An effort to constrain President Donald Trump’s power to continue the war in Iran failed Wednesday in the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joined U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., and other Republicans in voting against advancing the war powers resolution, allowing the conflict to continue.

The U.S. on Saturday joined Israel in a surprise attack on Iran — without congressional approval. The legislation would have directed Trump to remove the military from hostilities with Iran unless Congress exercises its sole authority to declare war. The resolution failed 47-53, mostly along party lines.

As expected, Fetterman split with his party after spending the first few days of the conflict defending U.S. strikes on Iran and telegraphing his decision to be a “hard no” on the resolution. McCormick, who also defended the war in Iran, has gone on the offensive against Democrats, accusing the party of “political theater” for blocking funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

DHS still isn’t funded and over half of CISA’s workforce has been furloughed—2,000 personnel cut down to about 800.

— Senator Dave McCormick (@SenMcCormickPA)

Critical cybersecurity and infrastructure assessments are paused while the threat of Iranian cyberattacks are rising.

This is no time for political theater. I…[March 4, 2026]

The joint U.S.-Israeli attacks killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with other government officials and civilians, and dozens of school girls. As of Wednesday evening, six U.S. troops have lost their lives to retaliatory Iranian strikes. The White House has struggled to offer a clear rationale behind the war.

Democrats in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware have mostly been outspoken in decrying the war against Iran. U.S. Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., Chris Coons, D-Del., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., all voted in favor of the war powers legislation.

The House is expected to vote Thursday on a similar bipartisan resolution.

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