On June 23, 2026, the Senate voted 50-48 to agree to H.Con.Res. 86, the concurrent resolution the House had passed on June 3 directing President Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran. Because it was a concurrent resolution, it did not go to the president, and ABC News reported it “does not carry the force of law”; a White House official said it had “no significance.” The next night, June 24, the Senate voted 47-50, with one senator voting present, against taking up S.J.Res. 185, a separate joint resolution that would have directed the same withdrawal.
Two Republicans who had voted for H.Con.Res. 86 the day before changed their votes. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) voted “present,” saying he wanted to “give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace.” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) flipped to oppose it after a White House briefing from Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff, saying the conversation “address[ed] many of my concerns.” Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski held their support.
The flips followed a tense Senate Republican lunch where Trump worked the room personally. According to multiple accounts, Trump called Cassidy a “lunatic” and told him to “sit down” when Cassidy tried to speak. The episode shows the president pressuring his own party to surrender one of the few institutional checks on the war he started (see The Senate Votes 50-47 to Advance a Resolution Forcing an End to the Iran War, as Bill Cassidy Flips Days After Losing a Primary in Which Trump Backed His Opponent).
Correction (September 16, 2026): an earlier version of this entry said the Senate had voted to advance “the same measure” a day earlier and that the June 24 vote “killed the congressional check.” Senate roll call records show the June 23 vote was final agreement to a different measure, H.Con.Res. 86, which passed 50-48, and the June 24 vote was on a motion to proceed to S.J.Res. 185. The Republican vote changes described here are accurate across the two votes. The House later passed two more such resolutions (see The House Votes a Third Time to End the Iran War, 220-204, as Seven Republicans Now Break With Trump).