GOP holds the line on Iran despite growing midterm rift with Trump

GOP holds the line on Iran despite growing midterm rift with Trump Senate Republicans barely defeated an effort to halt the conflict even as GOP candidates in battleground states turn against the war. 09/24/2026 03:11 PM EDT Senate Republicans narrowly fended off a pre-midterm bid to halt the Iran war, staying largely united with President Donald Trump even as a growing number of GOP candidates voice unhappiness with the protracted conflict. The 49-50 vote could be the final vote lawmakers take on the war just over a month before elections that will determine control of Congress. Republicans weathered four defections, up from the three GOP senators who have repeatedly supported efforts to end the military conflict. The failed vote comes even as Republican candidates around the country break with Trump and urge a quick end to an unpopular war that has led to staggering gas and fertilizer prices. The legislation, which passed the House in July, would have been a largely symbolic gesture. The legally untested measure is a concurrent resolution that wouldn’t go to Trump to sign or veto. The White House dismissed a previous measure that passed both chambers. But the vote provides a key political snapshot of where the two parties stand seven months into the war and in the lead-up to Election Day. Democrats have sought to force votes that put incumbent Republicans on the record — and pin the economic blame on Trump’s party. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina sided with Democrats in support of the measure. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), who has previously supported efforts to end the war, did not vote. Senate Democrats have lost more than a dozen votes on the war since it began, but insist they’re gaining ground. “You see members of the president’s own party now reversing their positions, who have voted for the war and now they’re saying they want the war to end,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), one of the leaders of the effort. “I wish more would stand up for the Constitution right out of the gate instead of waiting until their constituents are screaming in their face that it’s time to end this.” Sen. John Fetterman was the lone Democrat to oppose the effort. Tillis — who voted for the first time to curtail the conflict — had warned over the summer that he would oppose the war by mid-September if he didn’t see a clear path forward from the administration. The retiring GOP senator said he was unconvinced after a Wednesday briefing that he called “not enough and too late.” “I said [in July] in 60 days, I’m inclined to vote on something unless I’ve been properly briefed and convinced that we’re on the right track,” Tillis said. “I haven’t gotten that brief.” Embattled Republicans in congressional races are increasingly turning against the war on the campaign trail. GOP candidates in battleground states such as Iowa, Michigan and Ohio in recent days acknowledged the war has raised prices and urged a swift conclusion. Rep. Ashley Hinson, the Iowa GOP candidate to succeed departing Sen. Joni Ernst, and former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican seeking to flip the Michigan Senate seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, have both called for the Iran war to end. Another GOP lawmaker running for governor of Michigan, Rep. John James, has urged an end to the military campaign. Both Hinson and James, however, voted against Democratic-led legislation in the House last week to end the war. Other Republicans stepped up calls for an end to the military conflict, but refused to buck Trump. That included Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who is locked in a tough reelection fight with former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Husted declared in an interview Tuesday that “the war needs to come to an end as quickly as possible so that we can lower gas prices.” But he said he won’t support the effort to curtail the military campaign. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a GOP defense hawk who faces a difficult reelection fight against former Rep. Mary Peltola, also opposed the resolution. And Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who faces a surprisingly challenging bid for another term, ruled out supporting the Democratic measure as well. The Senate plans to stay in session next week, which may mean another vote on the war.