Recent articles
May 21, 2026
GOP Pulls Measure on Trump’s War Powers in Iran, Lacking Votes to Defeat It
House Republican leaders abruptly scrapped a planned vote on a measure to direct President Trump to end the conflict or win authorization for it, amid party defections and absences.
www.nytimes.com
May 19, 2026
Senate Votes to Take Up Measure to Force Trump to End Iran War
With four Republican backers, Democrats won a vote to advance a resolution that would force the president to end hostilities or win authorization from Congress.
www.nytimes.com
May 19, 2026
Republican Senators Are Livid at Trump’s Endorsement of Paxton
News that President Trump had snubbed Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the four-term incumbent, was met with shock, anger and fear that the G.O.P. could lose his seat.
www.nytimes.com
May 15, 2026
Republicans Waited to Challenge Trump on the Iran War. Now It May Be Too Late.
Having deferred to the president for months, G.O.P. lawmakers missed crucial milestones to try to limit his war powers. That has tied their hands in seeking parameters and exit criteria.
www.nytimes.com
May 13, 2026
Iran War Powers Vote Fails Again in Senate, but GOP Opposition Grows
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska became the latest Republican to switch her vote to halt the conflict and require President Trump to win congressional approval to continue it.
www.nytimes.com
May 12, 2026
Pentagon Puts Iran War Cost at $29 Billion as Hegseth Deflects on Funding
The estimate from the Defense Department’s top budget official was $4 billion higher than two weeks ago. Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to say when the administration would request extra money for...
www.nytimes.com
May 7, 2026
Appeals Court Looks Unlikely to Allow Hegseth to Punish Mark Kelly for Video
A three-judge panel in Washington heard arguments in the lawsuit aimed at stopping the Pentagon from disciplining Senator Mark Kelly for a video warning about illegal military orders.
www.nytimes.com
May 1, 2026
Trump Tells Congress Why He Doesn’t Need Its Authorization for the Iran War
In letters to the House and Senate, the president asserted that the hostilities had “terminated,” in an apparent attempt to avoid having to seek congressional approval.
www.nytimes.com
May 1, 2026
As Iran War Reaches 60-Day Mark, Republicans in Congress Grow Impatient With Trump
Months into the operation and with midterms looming, some lawmakers are calling for Congress to restrain the president’s war power or set terms for bringing the conflict to a close.
www.nytimes.com
April 30, 2026
Hegseth Says Iran Cease-Fire Stops Clock for Congressional Approval
The defense secretary testified on the eve of the 60-day mark of the war, a major statutory deadline for the president to withdraw forces or seek approval from Congress to continue the fight.
www.nytimes.com
April 29, 2026
Takeaways From Hegseth’s Testimony on Iran War and His Tenure
It was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first public appearance before Congress since Operation Epic Fury began in late February.
www.nytimes.com
April 23, 2026
Senate Adopts GOP Budget, Laying the Groundwork to Fund ICE and Reopen DHS
Republicans pushed through a budget plan with a $70 billion increase for immigration enforcement after an overnight session in which they beat back Democratic proposals aimed at lowering costs.
www.nytimes.com
April 16, 2026
Senate Blocks Bid to Cancel Arms Sales to Israel as Iran War Deepens Democratic Divide
Concerns over the Iran war led several Democratic senators who had rejected past bids to curb weapons transfers to Israel to vote to block the sale of bulldozers and bombs.
www.nytimes.com
April 15, 2026
Senate Republicans Again Block Bid to Limit Trump’s Iran War Powers
For the fourth time since the war began, G.O.P. senators successfully fended off an effort to constrain the president. But there were signs of growing unease among Republicans.
www.nytimes.com
April 13, 2026
Amid War, G.O.P. Puts Off Testimony From Senior Pentagon Commanders
House lawmakers had been scheduled to hear testimony next week from the head of military operations in the Middle East, but the Republican majority postponed the hearing until late May.
www.nytimes.com
March 31, 2026
Forgoing Oversight of Iran War, G.O.P. Calls Hegseth to Testify on Budget
After resisting calls for public hearings for weeks, House Republicans have called the secretary of defense to testify at a budget hearing in late April for the first time since the attacks on Iran...
www.nytimes.com
March 28, 2026
House Vote Sets Up Clash With the Senate on D.H.S. Funding, Prolonging Shutdown
Republicans revolted over a Senate measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security and passed a rival bill, dimming the chances of a quick end to the crisis crippling airports.
www.nytimes.com
March 27, 2026
Trump Says He Will Order T.S.A. Agents Paid as Funding Deal Stalls
President Trump’s announcement came as talks on Capitol Hill over funding the Department of Homeland Security faltered, and airport lines continued to grow.
www.nytimes.com
March 26, 2026
G.O.P. Senator Weighs Forcing Congress to Vote to Authorize the Iran War
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is drafting a formal authorization for the use of military force in Iran, seeking to put some parameters around the operation as the Trump administration has boxed ...
www.nytimes.com
March 26, 2026
Republicans in Congress Fret Over Trump Administration’s Handling of Iran War
G.O.P. lawmakers who have given the Trump administration wide latitude to wage war with no congressional input are growing frustrated as officials offer little detail about ground troops, cost or t...
www.nytimes.com
March 24, 2026
Senate Republicans Again Block Bid to Halt Iran War Without Authorization
Senate Democrats failed for the third time to advance a resolution that would force the removal of troops from hostilities in Iran unless Congress approves offensive operations.
www.nytimes.com
March 20, 2026
Administration Bypasses Congress to Sell Weapons to U.A.E., Kuwait and Jordan
Some of the proposed sales, valued at more than $23 billion, were under review, while others were never sent to Congress. The Trump administration is pushing them through without congressional appr...
www.nytimes.com
March 20, 2026
Deferring to Trump, G.O.P. Lawmakers Resist a Public Accounting on Iran
Nearly three weeks into a war that polls show is unpopular, top Republicans have yet to call administration officials to testify about it, arguing that hearings would put divisions on display.
www.nytimes.com
March 19, 2026
Pentagon Seeks Additional $200 Billion to Fund Iran War
The request, which the White House has not submitted to Congress, is already encountering some resistance.
www.nytimes.com
February 28, 2026
Congress Faces War Powers Votes in Wake of Iran Strikes
Following the attack, Democrats and a few Republicans escalated their calls for swift votes on whether to curb the president’s power to continue using force against Iran without explicit authorizat...
www.nytimes.com