What is happening

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that the upper chamber will vote next week on a war powers resolution aimed at checking President Trump’s authority over military operations in Iran. It will be the fourth such attempt since the conflict began in late February.

Why it matters: No president has conducted sustained military operations of this scale without formal congressional authorisation in decades. The outcome will shape whether the legislature reasserts its constitutional war-making role or cedes it further to the executive branch.

The Democratic case

Schumer called the Iran conflict a “war of choice” and said Congress must act regardless of the ceasefire. “No president, Democrat or Republican, should take this country to war alone,” he said during a Wednesday press conference.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries went further, calling for Congress to return early from its two-week Easter recess to pass the resolution before the ceasefire expires. Representative Greg Landsman of Ohio introduced a separate resolution that would permit targeted strikes but ban ground troops and require a congressional vote within 30 days.

The Republican case

Republican leadership has argued that the president acted within existing authorities and that a war powers vote during active negotiations could undermine American leverage. The resolution has failed to reach the 60-vote threshold in the Senate on all three previous attempts, with most Republicans voting against it.

Some GOP members, however, have broken ranks. Senator Lisa Murkowski said Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s civilisation “cannot be excused away” and called for greater congressional oversight.

What happens next

The vote is expected next week, while the two-week ceasefire is still in effect. If it passes, the resolution would direct the president to withdraw forces from hostilities in Iran within 30 days unless Congress formally authorises the use of military force. Senate Democrats need to flip several Republican votes to reach the 60-vote threshold. The ceasefire’s fragility — and Israel’s strikes on Lebanon — may apply new pressure on wavering senators.