WASHINGTON — Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) delivered remarks on the Senate floor on June 16, 2026, calling President Donald Trump a “failed president and an unabashed warmonger” and urging colleagues to use congressional authority to check the president’s use of military force.
“But the question before this body is: Will this president do this again?” Warnock said. “I think the answer is yes. He will continue to choose bombs over diplomacy because he is a failed warmonger, and that’s why I’m urging my colleagues to speak up in this moral moment, send a message that the president should not feel that he can easily and so cavalierly use American might while Congress stands idly by.”
Warnock shared a clip of the speech on X the same day. The remarks came on the same day the Senate voted down the latest war powers resolution aimed at limiting Trump’s authority to continue military operations against Iran.
The Senate Vote
The Senate rejected the resolution Tuesday. The measure, led by Warnock, would have directed the president to “remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force.” Ahead of the vote, Warnock addressed his Republican colleagues: “After 109 days of a failed war, and now a fragile, temporary, but welcome truce, will my Republican colleagues choose today to finally stand up to this president?”
It marked the ninth time the Senate has attempted to advance such a measure since Operation Epic Fury launched in late February. The vote came as the Trump administration has signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran that could lead to a broader peace agreement, though Congress has not been briefed on the deal’s details ahead of a Friday deadline.
Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), who has led Democratic war powers efforts for several months, said that with a ceasefire in place, the U.S. and Iran appeared to be heading toward an “intermission” rather than a lasting resolution. Senate Republicans argued that passing the resolution would constrain the president’s negotiating position at a critical moment.
Background: Operation Epic Fury
Warnock’s remarks are directed at Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign launched on February 28, 2026. The operation targeted Iran’s military infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and ballistic missile capabilities, and its opening strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran responded with hundreds of retaliatory missiles and thousands of drones directed at targets across the Middle East.
Department of War fact sheets state that U.S. forces struck over 1,700 targets in the first 72 hours and more than 5,000 in the first 10 days, employing B-1, B-2, and B-52 bombers alongside THAAD and Patriot missile defense systems. Six U.S. service members were killed in the opening days of the campaign, including three in a friendly fire incident in Kuwait. The White House announced in April that the operation met its stated objectives after 38 days of major combat, with Iran agreeing to a ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Some independent analysts offered differing assessments of the operation’s results. A Quwa Defense analysis drawing on CSIS, CFR, and Soufan Centre assessments concluded that Iran’s underground nuclear infrastructure was not fully eliminated, and noted that U.S. intelligence reportedly overestimated damage to tunnel sites by at least 50 percent. The administration has maintained that the operation achieved the military objectives set by the president.
Warnock’s Position on the War
Tuesday’s remarks reflect a position Warnock has held since the conflict began. His Senate office has documented multiple floor speeches in which he criticized the administration for entering the conflict without a clear exit strategy or congressional authorization. Following a U.S. Tomahawk missile strike that killed at least 175 people at an Iranian elementary school, Warnock sent a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) requesting a bipartisan investigation and public hearing.
At an April press conference, Warnock said: “Donald Trump said that he was the candidate for peace. He is a warmonger president. He has dragged us into this illegal, unwise war right on the heels of 20 years and more, in which the American people saw that in the Middle East, it’s easy to get into these wars; it’s difficult to get out.”
Following the ceasefire, Warnock also questioned the underlying rationale for the conflict. Speaking to CBS News, he said: “The Strait of Hormuz, they’re saying, will be reopened. Well, it was open before he started the war. I hope the war is over, but the question is, why were we in the war in the first place?”
Congressional Backdrop
Tuesday’s Senate vote came two weeks after the House passed its own war powers resolution for the first time, 215-208. Four Republicans — Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania — joined Democrats in supporting the measure. Even if both chambers were to agree on a final resolution, the White House has indicated Trump would veto it and has questioned the constitutionality of the War Powers Act.
The conflict has now stretched past 109 days. Members of both parties have raised concerns about rising energy prices, the terms of the emerging peace deal, and the extent of congressional oversight. The Trump administration has said it expects to finalize a broader agreement with Iran in the coming days.