U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is calling for a Senate vote as early as next week on a resolution to prevent the U.S. from entering a war with Iran without congressional approval.
Kaine spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday in support of the resolution he introduced June 16 under the War Powers Act. The proposal would block any offensive military action against Iran unless it is explicitly authorized by Congress, while still allowing U.S. forces to defend against an imminent threat.
“There’s no part of the Constitution that’s more important than the Article One provision making plain that the United States should not be at war without a vote of Congress,” Kaine said.
“We owe it to the American people and our troops to make sure we’re not asking for the ultimate sacrifice without a debate and a vote.”
Kaine, who serves on the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, has spent more than a decade pushing to rein in presidential war powers.
On the Senate floor, Kaine argued that the resolution qualifies as a “privileged motion” under the War Powers Act of 1974, allowing it to bypass committee and come up for a vote. He said the required conditions for triggering a debate have been met, citing the absence of congressional authorization and the presence of what he called “actual kinetic hostility” between U.S. and Iranian forces. “The U.S. is already using weaponry to knock down Iranian missiles,” Kaine said. “That’s more than imminence — that’s actual kinetic hostility.”
He led the bipartisan effort to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force, which were formally rescinded last year.
In his floor remarks, Kaine warned that another unauthorized conflict in the Middle East would be a “catastrophic blunder.”
“I’m asking my colleagues to support my simple resolution: No war without a vote of Congress,” Kaine said. “Let’s debate that in the full view of people whose spouses are in the military, or whose kids are in the military.”
The resolution, filed under the War Powers Act of 1973, would force Senate consideration once formally introduced.
Kaine has long framed the issue as a matter of constitutional accountability. In past years, he has introduced similar measures to restrict military action in Iran and prevent presidents of both parties from expanding conflicts without debate.
The resolution follows the recent escalation in regional tensions.
As previously reported by The Center Square, in the past week, Israel has conducted a series of strikes inside Iran, targeting military infrastructure linked to its nuclear program. Iran retaliated by bombing Israel, including civilian areas. President Donald Trump, speaking after a national security meeting and G7 travel, warned Iran’s leaders on social media and rejected the idea of a ceasefire, calling instead for a “real end” to Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
