US Senate minority leader vows weekly war powers votes on Iran

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday slammed the Trump administration’s handling of the ongoing war with Iran, vowing to intensify pressure in Congress through repeated votes on a war powers resolution.

"Tomorrow, Senate Republicans will force a fifth vote on our war powers resolution. We will continue to force votes on our resolution every single week that Trump's war continues," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

Last week, the US Senate blocked a Democratic resolution that would limit President Donald Trump's ability to continue military operations against Iran without explicit congressional authorization.

Schumer said Trump “continues to demonstrate that he has no plan to end his disastrous war of choice with Iran,” describing the conflict as increasingly directionless more than seven weeks after it began.

Regional tensions have escalated since Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, while Tehran responded with missiles and drones targeting Israel and regional countries hosting US assets.

A two-week ceasefire was announced on April 8, mediated by Pakistan. Washington and Tehran held direct talks in Pakistan on April 11, but the talks ended without any agreement. Mediators are seeking to hold another round of discussions in Islamabad.

'More powers resolutions in the weeks to come'

Schumer also raised doubts about Vice President JD Vance’s expected trip to Pakistan towards ending the conflict would produce any results.

“It’s unclear whether the Iranians will even agree to meet with him, let alone agree to open up the Strait (of Hormuz) 51 days into this war,” Schumer said, adding that the administration still lacks “an objective strategy” or “an exit plan.”

Separately, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday there was "no intelligence" to suggest that Iran presented an "imminent threat" to the US’ national security interests, contrary to previous assertions by Trump.

"We are going to continue to advance more powers resolutions in the weeks to come, until we are able to successfully bring this reckless and costly war of choice in the Middle East to a close," Jeffries told reporters.

Jeffries also signaled that Democrats plan to keep pressure on Republicans by forcing repeated votes on the issue, vowing not “to let our Republican colleagues off the hook.”

“We are going to continue to force them to go on record and either stand on the side of the American people or stand on the side of this reckless war of choice.”