Senate Reverses Course on Troop Withdrawal from Iran

Just a day after the Senate voted to direct President Trump to withdraw U.S. troops from Iran, senators changed their minds, ultimately blocking the measure. This shift happened when some Republican lawmakers, including Senator Rand Paul and Senator Bill Cassidy, altered their votes following a closed-door luncheon with Trump and his administration.

After the vote on Wednesday, the resolution did not pass as Senator Paul and Senator Cassidy switched their votes. Cassidy’s change came after a private briefing from Vice President JD Vance and other officials aimed at addressing his concerns.

“I want to thank Vice President Vance and Special Envoy Witkoff for their thorough briefing this afternoon on Iran. I appreciate the quick invitation to the White House to address many of my concerns,” Cassidy shared on X.

On the other hand, Paul stated on X that despite his unchanged views on executive power, he altered his vote “to give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace.”

“Tonight I will vote present on the War Powers resolution. My opinion on the debate over war and executive power has not changed and I have voted that way several times. But since hostilities seem to be over and the President asked me to give consideration to his…” — Rand Paul (@RandPaul)

After the vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and several other Republicans purportedly spoke to Trump, with Thune noting that the president seemed pleased with the outcome.

Trump later celebrated the reversal in a post on Truth Social, expressing gratitude to those who changed their votes and highlighting that this decision sends a message to Iran.

“Wow! The Senate just changed its vote on Iran from 50-48 against, 50-47 for. Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy changed. Thank you Leader John Thune, Lindsey Graham, Bernie Moreno, and all. This vote puts Iran on notice!”

Consistent with their past voting patterns, Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski supported the resolution, while every other GOP member opposed it. On the Democratic side, Senator John Fetterman was the only one to vote against the measure, while the rest of his party supported it. Senators Mitch McConnell and Michael Bennet were absent from the vote on Wednesday night.