U.S. President Donald Trump in Dearborn, Michigan, January 13, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) cast a tie-breaking vote that will allow President Donald Trump's war with Iran to continue.
The House has left Washington, but the Senate has remained throughout the week, and in a vote on Thursday afternoon, Democrats pushed for a count on House Concurrent Resolution 89, War Powers Resolution (Iran).
CSPAN showed the votes as they ticked by, standing still at 49-49. It was unclear who may have been out of town or unable to vote. If it was a tie, it would have put Vice President JD Vance in the difficult position to support a war he disagrees with or vote against Trump.
Semafor reporter Burgess Everett was watching, recording which lawmakers voted for and against.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) voted with Democrats.
Fetterman jumped in, he said, casting his vote with the Republicans.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), who was on Capitol Hill for an earlier vote, did not cast one for this count, Punchbowl confirmed. She was the only senator listed as not voting on the resolution.
Fetterman's larger concern is not with the Iran war specifically. His stated position is that Congress should not limit Trump’s ability to continue the military operation in Iran while U.S. forces are pursuing its objectives.
He told Fox News' Sean Hannity in April: “We have to stand [with] our military to allow them to accomplish the goals of Epic Fury.”
H.Con.Res. 89 was introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) would direct the president to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress passes a declaration of war or specific authorization for force. It expressly preserves the ability to defend the United States, U.S. forces, diplomatic facilities, and allies from an imminent attack, as well as defensive troop deployments and intelligence activities.
Alsobrooks has strongly stood in opposition to the Iran war, repeatedly voting for all Senate war-powers resolutions that would require U.S. forces to leave hostilities with Iran absent specific congressional authorization. Had she been there, she would have sent the bill into a 50-50 split, requiring Vance to cast the tie-breaker.
As news spread across social media, Fetterman was blasted for his vote.
"Thank you for proving our point that he just wants power just like Fetterman. You’re a sucker," said one person.
Republican Eric Daugherty sang Fetterman's praises, "Thankfully, despite being a Democrat, Fetterman knows being an IRGC apologist is NOT good for America! Now stop wasting time on these useless votes that don't actually accomplish anything even if they pass. PUT SAVE AMERICA ACT ON THE FLOOR!"