US Congress
The bicameral federal legislature authorising US war powers, spending, and domestic policy.
US Congress passed the Graham Act's Russia sanctions 86-11 in the Senate and 262-159 in The House, then received a presidential waiver on 16 October 2026 suspending its tariffs of up to 500% with no Russian condition.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026 · Appears in 6 active topics
With the Iran war unfunded and the NASA budget slashed, can Congress reassert constitutional authority on anything in 2026?
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Russia-Ukraine War 2026Background
US Congress, the bicameral federal legislature of the United States, sits in two chambers: The House of Representatives, with 435 members elected for two years, and the Senate, with 100 senators serving six-year terms. Since 1789 the two chambers have shared the power to make federal law, approve appropriations and declare war, so most binding national decisions need agreement from both. Laws it has passed still depend on the President, who can veto them or, where a statute allows, waive the sanctions or tariffs they impose.
Those powers turn political conflict into binding measures. Congress can grant or withhold money, write national rules and oversee the executive, which makes it the forum where military commitments and domestic priorities gain democratic authority. New executive bodies often wait on it too: the Autonomous Warfare Command announced on 30 September 2026 depends on congressional approval.
In 2026 the Iran war tested that role. The House blocked an Iran War Powers Resolution by 213 votes to 214 on 16 April, and Congress still had no filed authorisation shortly before the statutory deadline.
Its Russia tariff law was waived
Congress passed the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act by wide margins in August and September 2026, 86-11 in the Senate and 262-159 in The House. Donald Trump signed it on 18 September. Within 30 days the Act required tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the biggest buyers of Russian crude or gas, and any waiver needed written notice to Congress.
That notice arrived two days before the trigger date. Trump's order of 16 October wrote the duties into force, with Russian goods facing a 500% increase, and waived them in the same text under the Act's national-interest clause. The certification and report went to Congress; the waiver names no Ceasefire or talks and lasts until the President or the Secretary of State ends it.
Its war-powers check failed by one vote
By May 2026 Congress had not voted to authorise the war with Iran that began in February. On 16 April The House blocked its second Iran War Powers Resolution by 213 votes to 214: Jared Golden was the only Democrat against it and Thomas Massie the only Republican for it. Warren Davidson voted present and Nancy Mace did not vote, and either absence would have flipped the result.
By 10 April the Pentagon's war supplemental had been cut by more than half from the $200bn first sought, and Republican leaders still lacked the votes to pass it. On 28 April Senator Lisa Murkowski missed her own deadline to file an authorisation, leaving nothing on either chamber's docket as the War Powers Resolution's 60-day clock ran out on 1 May.
Members resisted a 47% science cut
On 13 March 2026 more than 100 members of Congress, nearly all Democrats, signed a letter urging $9bn for NASA Science in the 2027 fiscal year. The White House had proposed $3.9bn, a 47% cut. Congress rejected similar cuts for 2026 and held science funding roughly flat at $7.3bn.
Resistance crossed party lines. Representative Zoe Lofgren and Senator Susan Collins rejected the package in early April. On 7 April NASA's administrator, Jared Isaacman, backed the full $18.8bn agency request, $5.6bn below the 2026 level, which left the appropriations committees as the place the cut would be decided.
Congress leaves Iran war unauthorised
Has Congress authorised the Iran war?
Reference
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What is the War Powers Resolution and does it apply to Iran?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.