Rand Paul

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Key Figures

On May 19, 2026, the Senate voted 50-47 to pull S.J. Res. 185 from committee, the first successful procedural move on a resolution aimed at ending unauthorized U.S. hostilities against Iran in the 119th Congress. Bill Cassidy flipped three days after losing his primary, while John Cornyn, Thom Tillis, and Tommy Tuberville missed the vote and handed Tim Kaine's resolution the margin it needed. The vote kept alive a congressional challenge to Trump's war after the War Powers Resolution's 60-day deadline had passed, but the measure still faced a final Senate vote, a hostile House, and a near-certain veto (CBS; NBC; CNBC; CNN; CRS; Lawfare).

Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees released a $71.7 billion reconciliation spending package on May 5, 2026, including $38.2 billion for ICE, $26 billion for CBP, $5 billion for other border enforcement, and $1.5 billion for DOJ immigration programs. The package represented the largest single immigration enforcement appropriation in US history and would be borrowed entirely, adding to the deficit. Markup hearings were scheduled for the week of May 19 before a floor vote.

The Senate voted down another attempt to force an end to military operations against Iran. The vote showed that Congress was repeatedly declining to use the War Powers Resolution to restrain Trump’s Iran campaign even as the statutory deadline approached.

Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic resolution to end U.S. military operations against Iran for the fifth time on April 23, 2026, voting 47-52 to table the measure. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote in favor; Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat opposed. The vote came eight days before the War Powers Resolution's 60-day deadline expires on May 1, after which President Trump must either secure congressional authorization to continue the conflict or certify in writing that he needs 30 additional days to withdraw U.S. forces. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to keep bringing resolutions to the floor, saying Democrats have six more queued up. The Iran war, known as Operation Epic Fury, began on February 28, 2026, with airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear facilities.

Approximately 20 House Republicans joined with Democrats on April 20, 2026, to block a clean three-year reauthorization of FISA Section 702, demanding that any renewal include a requirement that the FBI obtain a warrant before searching Americans' communications incidentally collected under the foreign intelligence program. The revolt forced House leadership to approve a second 10-day extension rather than a long-term bill. The Republican dissidents argued that without a warrant requirement, Section 702 functions as a backdoor surveillance tool against American citizens who have committed no crime.