The US Senate on Thursday rejected a war powers resolution that would have directed President Donald Trump to remove US forces from hostilities with Iran, with the measure failing 49 votes to 50. Four Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — crossed party lines to support the resolution, while Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the sole member of his party to vote against it. Senator Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland did not vote.
The resolution was led by Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who argued that the president is 'in violation of the Constitution and the War Powers Act' [Source: CNBC]. As a concurrent resolution, the measure does not carry the force of law and is not subject to presidential signature, making Thursday's vote largely symbolic. The White House has previously argued that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional, and effectively ignored a prior Senate-approved resolution. Thursday's defeat was the 14th time the Senate has considered such a measure since Trump launched the conflict on 28 February 2026. The resolution had cleared the House in July by a vote of 214 to 208, and a separate House-approved war powers resolution passed earlier in September garnered 220 votes. Republicans control the Senate, and the vote came fewer than six weeks before the November midterm elections.
Energy markets were volatile on Thursday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 2.5% to $105.69 a barrel, having earlier touched a session high of $108.23 — a gain of approximately 5% — after Iran-allied Houthi militants in Yemen fired a barrage of missiles at Saudi Arabia. US West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 2.3% to $94.30. Brent crude has gained more than 17% in September. The vote came days after Trump's address to the United Nations in which he threatened to 'annihilate' Iran.
The broader energy price environment has weighed heavily on US consumers. The national average US gasoline price stood below $3 a gallon before the conflict began and has since risen to $4.50 a gallon. Diesel costs have almost doubled, topping $6 a gallon according to AAA, with the price having stood at around $3.52 a gallon in January and hitting a record high for late September of $6.52 this week. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the Trump administration was working with refiners on a voluntary reduction in US diesel exports as an alternative to imposing a formal ban on overseas shipments.
The conflict, now in its seventh month, has disrupted global energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that until the war's start handled roughly 25% of the world's seaborne oil trade and 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas [Source: Wikipedia]. Brent crude surpassed $100 per barrel on 8 March 2026 for the first time in four years, reaching a peak of $126 per barrel. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the conflict had cost the Pentagon $38 billion as of 1 August; the total cost stood at approximately $43.5 billion as of Thursday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the most realistic path forward is for Tehran to allow navigation in the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US ending its naval blockade [Source: CNBC]. Saudi Arabia is also preparing to restart exports through its East-West pipeline, which would allow the kingdom to bypass the strait.
Sources: NPR, CNBC, Washington Post, Associated Press, NewsNation, Trading Economics, Wikipedia