Weekly Recap: War Powers Rejected, DHS Shutdown Day 20, and a Record-Breaking Year for Partisanship — Week of March 2–6, 2026

It was a week that laid bare the central tensions of the 119th Congress: a bipartisan coalition in both chambers tried — and failed — to assert legislative oversight of a shooting war. A government agency remained partially shuttered while negotiations stalled. And a new independent analysis confirmed what the vote tallies had been suggesting all year: 2025 was the most partisan congressional session in modern recorded history.

Here is what happened on Capitol Hill the week of March 2–6, 2026, by the numbers.

The Big Vote: Both Chambers Block Iran War Powers Resolutions

The dominant story of the week was Congress's handling — or refusal to handle — its constitutional authority to authorize war. With U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran ongoing and six American service members killed by an Iranian strike on a base in Kuwait, lawmakers in both chambers brought forward resolutions invoking the War Powers Resolution of 1973.

In the Senate, the vehicle was S.J.Res.104, a joint resolution sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) that would have directed the removal of U.S. Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities against Iran. Because it was bottled up in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, supporters sought to bypass the panel entirely via a motion to discharge. That motion failed on Senate Roll Call Vote #46 on March 4, 2026.

The vote fell almost entirely along party lines. Two senators broke with their party: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) crossed over to vote YEA alongside Democrats, consistent with his longtime libertarian opposition to unauthorized military engagements. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was the sole Democrat to vote NAY, siding with the Republican majority to block the resolution.

Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the resolution's chief opponent, argued the committee had no obligation to act. "This is not a forever war, indeed not even close to it. This is going to end very quickly," Risch said on the floor. Supporters, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), framed the vote as a choice between standing with the American people — citing a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing only 1-in-4 Americans approved of the Iran strikes — or with the President.

In the House, a companion resolution hit the floor on March 5. H.Con.Res.38 was notable for its bipartisan sponsorship: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) co-authored the measure, which would have directed the President to terminate hostilities unless Congress formally authorized them. The House rejected it on Roll Call #85.

The crossover votes tell the story: only two Republicans — Massie and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) — voted YES. Four Democrats — Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Jared Golden (D-ME), and Juan Vargas (D-CA) — voted NO. One Republican did not vote.

Massie, addressing the House floor on Wednesday, framed his position in constitutional terms: "If American blood is to be shed, that decision should be voted on by Congress. That debate is meant to be arduous. And that vote is meant to be hard. I think my colleagues don't want to go on record, because we have a terrible track record of meddling in the Middle East."

Also on March 5, the House passed a separate resolution — Roll Call #84 on H.Res.1099 — that reaffirmed Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism. That resolution, sponsored by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, 372–53.

DHS Shutdown: Day 20

As of March 6, the Department of Homeland Security has been operating under a partial shutdown for 20 days. The Senate passed five of six fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills on January 30 in a 71–29 vote — covering Defense, Financial Services, Labor/HHS, State Department, and Transportation/Housing — but stripped out the Homeland Security bill to allow continued negotiation over Democratic demands for ICE and CBP enforcement restrictions.

This week, for the third time, Senate Democrats blocked a standalone DHS funding bill, maintaining that any DHS appropriations must include new guardrails on immigration enforcement. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) forced the vote; Democrats held the line. Negotiations between Senate Democrats and the White House remain at an impasse, with no deal publicly announced as of this writing.

By the Numbers: 2025 Was the Most Partisan Congress Ever Recorded

A vote study published by Roll Call on March 5 put numbers to what the floor votes had already suggested: 2025 was the most partisan year for Congress in the history of their annual study — and it wasn't close.

Senate Republicans won 577 of 616 party unity votes — a 93.7% success rate — the highest ever recorded, both in raw numbers and percentage. That run was fueled in part by three vote-a-ramas on fiscal year budget resolutions and the "One Big Beautiful Bill" reconciliation package, which yielded 43 roll call votes in a single marathon session and cleared Congress without a single Democratic vote.

[ANALYSIS] The 2025 partisanship data provides essential context for the Iran war powers votes this week. The congressional math was never favorable for the war powers resolutions: with Republicans controlling both chambers and voting as a near-unified bloc, any measure requiring bipartisan Republican defections to pass faced steep odds. That only two House Republicans (Massie and Davidson) and one Senate Republican (Paul) crossed over — despite a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing broadly unpopular support for the Iran strikes — underscores just how durable party discipline has become as a structural feature of the 119th Congress.

Notable Stats of the Week

Looking Ahead

The Iran conflict and the DHS shutdown are the two threads most likely to define congressional action in the coming weeks. With midterm elections on the horizon and a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing broad public skepticism of the Iran strikes, Republican unity may face greater pressure — particularly among senators from competitive states. Meanwhile, DHS operations continue on emergency funding, and Senate negotiators remain under pressure to strike a deal before the shutdown drags further into spring.