President Donald Trump has won the moment – for now – in the Senate.

On Wednesday evening, Senate Republicans – with the exception of Rand Paul, because he is ALWAYS the exception – stood behind Operation Epic Fury and President Trump, voting down a resolution introduced by Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia to invoke the War Powers Act.

The Senate shot down a resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., aimed at limiting Trump’s military actions in Iran on Wednesday, following days of speculation about whether Republicans would cross the aisle — as they have done before — to reprimand the president.

The administration pushed hard to lobby support for Operation Epic Fury, holding several briefings with Congress to make its case. It appeared to work, at least for now, convincing some Republicans on the fence to back continued military action in Iran.

Only Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted in favor of the resolution, while Sen. Jon Fetterman, D-Pa., was the lone Democrat to cross the aisle in support.

At this point, a Rand Paul for John Fetterman vote trade is nearly a foregone conclusion in the Senate. Fetterman made his opinion clear days ago.
https://twitter.com/SenFettermanPA/status/2027771338639679554
But a longer explanation came from Senator Susan Collins of Maine. She’s in a contentious Senate race, and speaking out is a political risk (though if Graham Platner ends up being the Democrat nominee, it might be an easier race than we all think).

We cannot tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. The Iranian regime’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities, ballistic missile development, and support for terrorist proxies pose serious and longstanding threats to the national security of the United States and our allies. Iran has enormous…

— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) March 4, 2026

The full post reads:

We cannot tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. The Iranian regime’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities, ballistic missile development, and support for terrorist proxies pose serious and longstanding threats to the national security of the United States and our allies. Iran has enormous stockpiles of missiles and one-way attack drones and the industrial capacity to continue to expand its arsenal. If the Iranian regime were allowed to continue developing ballistic missiles, it would soon be able to shield its nuclear facilities by threatening a grave and immediate response to any attack.

Iran is also the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism. It has spent nearly half a century attacking Americans directly and through terrorist proxies, beginning with the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran that resulted in 66 Americans being held hostage for 444 days and continuing with the numerous devastating attacks against American service members and civilians in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and more. In the October 7, 2023, massacre, Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people, including 46 Americans, in what was the deadliest single day for the Jewish community since the Holocaust. The list of the Iranian regime’s crimes against America and our allies goes on and on.

The Constitution gives Congress an essential role in matters of war and peace. Sustained combat operations require full engagement with Congress. The Administration has adhered to the provisions of the War Powers Act that require notification to Congress within 48 hours of hostilities commencing, and it has provided numerous classified briefings to Congress.

Passing this resolution now would send the wrong message to Iran and to our troops. At this juncture, providing unequivocal support to our service members is critically important, as is ongoing consultation by the Administration with Congress.

At this point, the Senate is willing to give Trump the leeway to prosecute the strikes against Iran as he sees fit. The American people, for now, are willing to also follow suit – so long as the action that Trump estimated would take about a month stays that way. The shorter, the better. The longer it goes, the bigger the disapproval.

CBS POLL: Approve/Disapprove of Military action against Iran if think conflict would last…

🟢 Days/Weeks: 76-24 (+52)
🟤 Months: 46-54 (-8)
🔴 Years: 13-87 (-74)

YouGov | 3/2-3 | 1,399 A pic.twitter.com/BYEnUIGkS5

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) March 3, 2026

And now, a voice from the not-so-distant past – and a completely different administration – has voiced her support of President Trump and Operation Epic Fury. Enter Condoleezza Rice.

Joining “Special Report” Wednesday, Rice praised U.S.-Israeli joint strikes against Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while emphasizing the operation does not mark the beginning of a new war.

“Iran has been at war with us for at least 47 years,” she explained. “If you ask people about Iraq, what was the source of many of our casualties in Iraq, you’ll get estimates as high as 75 or 80% of them were due to Iranian-made roadside bombs.”

Rice, who served as national security advisor and secretary of state under former President George W. Bush during 9/11 and the Iraq War, said Iran has expanded military capability through its reach to international terrorist groups.

“They also have developed the military capability to reach outside the boundaries of Iran, including Hezbollah and Hamas, which they both arm and equip,” Rice said.

“To say that this regime was not a threat … it’s ahistorical,” Rice said. “They have been a threat for a long time.”

One goal of Operation Epic Fury, she said, is to strip Iran of its military capabilities and ability to coordinate with proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

“If you can render Iran essentially incapable of military action against us and against our allies, that’s worthy,” Rice told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier. “And I think what they’re trying to do is to neuter Iran as a military power in the region.”

The former Bush cabinet member said Iran now faces a “complicated” future and urged the Trump administration to capitalize on what she described as a moment of vulnerability.

“They are essentially, at this moment, defenseless,” Rice asserted. “They won’t always be defenseless, and so the decision is to really, at this point, take care of it and render them incapable of those activities.”

President Trump has been given the green light to continue Operation Epic Fury, and even if the House decides to take up a resolution to invoke the War Powers Act, it would probably fail there as well. We are less than a week into this bombardment campaign, and the strikes thus far have been targeted and have produced amazing, regime-changing results. The death of Khamenei is a regime change by definition, even if the regime attempts to install his son.

Now, the light won’t stay green for a long time, and President Trump is probably plenty aware of that fact. The Senate has weighed in, and the president is operating within the constraints of the law – but we all know his leash is pretty short. If the United States and Israel can wrap up Operation Epic Fury in the next few weeks, with limited to no casualties, then the American people will likely continue to approve of the action. But if any of that changes, then public opinion will swing as well.

Featured image: President Donald Trump on September 23, 2025, official White House Photo by Daniel Torok, cropped, public domain