--- ---  # Senate Democrats Prepare to Stall Chamber to Force Probe of Iran War ## Video: Schumer: "Senate Democrats will never allow the SAVE Act to pass this chamber" [Watch (HLS stream): Schumer: "Senate Democrats will never allow the SAVE Act to pass this chamber"](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PpW7QOp9.m3u8) (1:15)  _Published 2026-03-18. "Senate Democrats will never allow the SAVE Act to pass this chamber," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Republicans need 60 votes to advance the bill to a final vote, but they hold 53 seats, and all 45 Democrats and both independents, who caucus with the Democrats, oppose it._  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Mar 18, 2026 8:11 PM UTCPublished: Mar 17, 2026 10:46 PM UTC  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Mar 18, 2026 8:11 PM UTCPublished: Mar 17, 2026 10:46 PM UTC Senate Democrats are preparing to force a series of time-consuming repeat votes on the [war in Iran](https://time.com/article/2026/03/16/what-us-spending-on-the-war-in-iran-could-fund-instead/) in the coming days that could grind the Senate to a halt, a tactic aimed as much at disrupting the chamber’s work as at compelling the Trump Administration to publicly defend a conflict that has so far unfolded with [little formal scrutiny](https://time.com/7382503/trump-iran-war-congress-vote/) from Congress. The strategy, which is still being finalized, would mark the Democrats’ most aggressive effort yet to force accountability for the war, as they have grown increasingly [frustrated](https://time.com/7382385/iran-war-congress-marco-rubio-rationale/) that senior officials have yet to testify under oath in open session about the rationale, costs, and objectives of a war now entering its third week. Senator Adam Schiff of California told TIME on Tuesday that Democrats were prepared to repeatedly use one of the few procedural tools available to a minority party: [war powers resolutions](https://time.com/7381852/iran-war-congress-war-powers-act/), which can be brought to the floor for expedited votes. Because the measures are considered “privileged,” they bypass the usual requirement for 60 votes to advance, allowing Democrats to force repeated roll calls that can consume hours of floor time. “We hope, by forcing these votes, we can force some accountability,” says Schiff, one of several Democrats who last week filed war powers resolutions intended to halt military operations in Iran unless authorized by Congress. “We need to communicate to the Administration that we're going to insist on accountability even if they don't want it, and that we're prepared to use whatever tools and tactics and devices we can as a minority party to insist on it.” By Wednesday evening, Democrats began putting that strategy into motion. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, who last year set the record for the [longest individual floor speech](https://time.com/7273417/cory-booker-filibuster-speech-senate/) in Senate history, [announced](https://x.com/senbooker/status/2034350011895410774?s=46) he would call up his war powers resolution on the Senate floor that evening, the first in what could be a broader series of votes intended to force debate over the conflict. Since the U.S. joined Israel in launching strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Secretary of State [Marco Rubio](https://time.com/7382385/iran-war-congress-marco-rubio-rationale/), Defense Secretary [Pete Hegseth](https://time.com/article/2026/03/13/hegseth-iran-military-destroyed-strait-of-hormuz-oil-attacks/), and General Dan Caine have updated lawmakers through classified briefings behind closed doors. Butmembers from both parties have complained that those sessions offer limited clarity and little opportunity for public accountability. Schiff said that Democrats are considering forcing the war powers votes day after day, or repeatedly reintroducing similar measures, effectively tying up the Senate floor. While a final decision hasn’t been made, each vote would trigger debate and procedural steps that eat into the limited time available for other legislation. That could complicate Republican plans to pass one of Trump’s top legislative priorities, [the SAVE America Act](https://time.com/article/2026/03/10/trump-save-america-act-republicans-congress-voter-ID-senate-john-thune/), an elections bill that would impose new proof-of-citizenship and voter identification requirements. Republican leaders have signaled plans to devote extended floor time—potentially including nights and weekends—to advancing the measure this week. A cascade of war powers votes could slow or even stall that effort. The strategy, Democrats acknowledge, is unlikely to succeed on its own terms. Similar resolutions aimed at curbing U.S. military action abroad have repeatedly failed in the Republican-controlled Congress, and any measure that reached President Donald Trump’s desk would almost certainly be vetoed. But Democrats argue that the repeated votes could nonetheless force the Administration to engage with the [pushback](https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/joe-kent-s-resignation-over-iran-may-be-just-the-beginning/?utm%5Fsource=beehiiv&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=newsletter-the-dc-brief) against the war more publicly. “I can't say that the vote will be different on the very next resolution,” Schiff says, “but I can tell you that if this continues, there's going to be more and more recoil among the President's own base against the war.” Republicans have so far shown little appetite for holding dedicated public hearings on the war. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said the conflict would be addressed through the normal cadence of defense and appropriations hearings, and pointed to classified briefings and public news conferences by senior officials as sufficient for now. But [even some Republicans](https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/joe-kent-s-resignation-over-iran-may-be-just-the-beginning/) have begun to express unease. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has joined the calls for public hearingsand said she did not want Congress to receive a bill for the war’s cost without deeper engagement, while others have complained that briefings lacked answers from top decision makers. The absence of public testimony has become a central point of contention for Democrats, who argue that the Trump Administration has offered shifting explanations for the war’s objectives without being forced to defend those claims under oath. The Pentagon has said [13 American servicemembers](https://time.com/article/2026/03/10/us-service-members-killed-iran-war-casualties/) have died since the war began. “For an Administration that likes to call itself the most transparent in history, they’ve been hiding from any kind of accountability over this war,” Schiff said, adding that he believes the Administration doesn’t want public hearings “because they have such a weak case for this war that publicly trying to defend it would hurt them.” He pointed to past statements by Administration officials, including disputed claims that Iran was two weeks away from building a nuclear bomb, that, he said, would be tested differently in a formal hearing. “When they make these statements publicly and not under oath, they can say whatever they want,” he said. “But under oath, it’s another story.” If hearings were to occur, Schiff said he would press Hegseth and Rubio on the war’s objectives, its endpoint, the rules of engagement, and the conditions under which U.S. ground forces might be deployed. He also said he would investigate the Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed at least 175 people as well as seek clarity on the intelligence underpinning the Administration’s claims about Iran’s capabilities and actions. For now, Democrats are still calibrating how soon and how aggressively to deploy their strategy, particularly as the Senate barrels toward a scheduled recess at the end of the month and Republicans press ahead with the SAVE America Act. “We may be here around the clock on this SAVE Act business, so we're still working out the timing,” Schiff said. “But we're determined to do whatever it takes to bring this war to an end and to bring about accountability. 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