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Iran Conflict 2026
25APR

Murkowski targets 28 April AUMF filing

3 min read
20:34UTC

Senator Lisa Murkowski is targeting Tuesday 28 April to formally introduce an Authorisation for Use of Military Force on Iran. John Curtis joins Susan Collins and Thom Tillis on the record as a backer.

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Key takeaway

A Republican AUMF, not a Democratic War Powers vote, is what could end the 59-day zero-instrument streak.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, is targeting Tuesday 28 April to formally introduce an Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF) on Iran, Jewish Insider reports 1. Susan Collins, Thom Tillis and John Curtis are on the record as backers. Murkowski has framed her draft as seeking "greater disclosure, greater transparency".

The fifth War Powers Resolution (WPR) failed 46-51 on Wednesday 22 April , the tightest margin of the war; Senator John Fetterman crossed to Republicans and Senator Rand Paul crossed to Democrats. The WPR operative legal deadline is Friday 1 May, sixty days from Trump's 2 March congressional notification of the 28 February strikes . If Murkowski's bill lands on 28 April, the first signed Iran congressional instrument of the war would arrive on a Tuesday, three days before the Friday deadline, and from the Republican side rather than the Democratic.

The 2002 Iraq AUMF granted authority that operated for 21 years; the 2001 terror AUMF justified operations in 14 countries the drafters did not envisage. If Murkowski's text reads as a licence rather than a leash, Trump would gain congressional cover for a war the White House has refused to sign for, which means a Republican AUMF could achieve what 59 days of Truth Social posts could not. The five energy Presidential Determinations and Enbridge pipeline permits signed across the same window confirm Trump's policy machine is working; it has simply not turned toward the war.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

The War Powers Resolution is a US law from 1973 that says any president who starts a military operation must get Congress to approve it within 60 days, or start withdrawing troops. That 60-day deadline falls on 1 May for the Iran war. So far, Congress has voted five times to end the war, and five times failed to pass that vote. Now Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, wants to try a different approach: instead of voting to stop the war, she wants to vote to formally authorise it. This is called an Authorisation for Use of Military Force, or AUMF. The key question is whether her bill would add real constraints on how the war is conducted, or whether it would give the president a legal rubber stamp for whatever he chooses to do. Every AUMF since 1973 has been interpreted more broadly than its plain text, per Brennan Center research.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

Murkowski's AUMF has a structural origin in Republican Party dynamics: the WPR's five successive failures (all sponsored by Democrats and Rand Paul) established that the Senate will not pass an anti-war resolution. But three Republican senators (Murkowski, Collins, Tillis) have signalled discomfort with a 59-day war prosecuted on verbal authority alone. The AUMF is their mechanism for addressing the constitutional concern without opposing the war itself.

Murkowski's 28 April target date is set by the WPR deadline: without an AUMF before 1 May, Trump must either withdraw forces or openly defy the statute, both politically untenable. A pre-deadline AUMF eliminates the legal cliff, gives Murkowski a legislative win, and provides Trump with congressional cover he declined to seek. The AUMF resolves the constitutional problem without any party having to lose.

What could happen next?
  • Risk

    If the AUMF passes with open-ended language equivalent to the 2001 or 2002 precedents, Trump gains retroactive congressional authority for 59 days of operations and forward authority for any escalation, removing the only remaining legal constraint on the war's scope.

    Short term · 0.8
  • Opportunity

    A narrowly scoped AUMF with reporting requirements and a defined geographic limit could establish the first formal congressional oversight mechanism of the war, creating a paper trail that subsequent administrations and courts could enforce.

    Medium term · 0.55
  • Precedent

    A Republican-sponsored AUMF becoming the first signed Iran legislative instrument of the war would demonstrate that the constitutional check on executive war-making runs through the majority party, not through opposition WPR votes, reshaping the precedent for future conflicts.

    Long term · 0.75
Sources:Jewish Insider
Mentions:AUMF →Lisa Murkowski →Susan Collins →John Curtis →War Powers Resolution →Donald Trump →Jewish Insider →White House →Vietnam →Truth Social →Iran →Nixon →Rand Paul →Saddam Hussein →Brennan Center for Justice →John Fetterman →Iraq →Murkowski's AUMF →Thom Tillis →Enbridge →US Senate →
First Reported In

Update #81 · Iran writes Phase 3; Trump posts Phase 1

Jewish Insider· 27 Apr 2026
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Causes and effects
Caused by
Collins, Tillis back Murkowski's Iran AUMF draft
Collins and Tillis publicly backing Murkowski's draft six days before the deadline advanced the AUMF timeline toward Murkowski's 28 April target
Occurred 25 Apr 2026
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Senate rejects fifth WPR motion, 51-46
The fifth WPR failure on 22 April and the corrected 1 May WPR deadline set the legislative context for Murkowski's 28 April AUMF target date
Occurred 22 Apr 2026
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This Event
Murkowski targets 28 April AUMF filing
If the bill lands as filed text on 28 April, the first signed Iran congressional instrument of the war arrives one day before the War Powers Resolution 60-day deadline; an AUMF could give Trump cover for a war he has refused to sign for.
Led to
Murkowski misses her own AUMF deadline
Murkowski's targeted 28 April introduction (ID:2836) passed without a filing, confirming zero legislative output from the bill the Senate's 51-46 WPR defeat implied
Occurred 28 Apr 2026
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Different Perspectives
International human rights monitors (NetBlocks, IHR, Hengaw)
International human rights monitors (NetBlocks, IHR, Hengaw)
NetBlocks recorded 1,704 cumulative hours of near-total internet blackout for roughly 90 million Iranians on Day 74, while IHR documented ongoing executions under emergency provisions. These organisations are the only active monitoring windows into a civilian population cut off from the global internet for 71 consecutive days.
UK / France coalition
UK / France coalition
The Royal Navy confirmed HMS Dragon's Hormuz deployment on its own website on 11 May, converting a press-reported presence into declared force posture; UK and French defence ministers hosted a coalition meeting the same day. Britain and France are now the only named contributors to a Hormuz escort mission all five allies Trump originally asked had declined.
Saudi Aramco / Gulf producers
Saudi Aramco / Gulf producers
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned on 11 May that a Hormuz closure could remove 100 million barrels of weekly supply from global markets (roughly 15 million barrels per day for a week), a figure that dwarfs any OPEC+ swing capacity. The warning functions as both a price-floor signal and a public pressure on Washington to protect transit.
Beijing / Chinese Government
Beijing / Chinese Government
China has not publicly acknowledged the four Hong Kong-registered entities designated on 11 May or extended MOFCOM's Blocking Rules cover to HK-domiciled firms. Xi Jinping hosts Trump on 14–15 May having already de-risked state-bank balance sheets via NFRA's quiet loan halt, entering the summit partially compliant before any negotiation.
Tehran / Iranian Government
Tehran / Iranian Government
Foreign Minister Araghchi described Iran's 10-point counter-proposal as 'reasonable and responsible' via spokesman Baqaei on 11 May, and widened the mediator pool by meeting Turkish, Egyptian, and Dutch counterparts in a single day. Tehran is buying procedural runway while Trump's verbal rejection went unmatched by any written US counter.
Trump White House
Trump White House
Trump called the ceasefire 'on massive life support' and dismissed Iran's 10-point counter-proposal as 'a piece of garbage' on 11 May, while departing for Beijing two days later with no signed Iran instrument to show Congress. The verbal maximum and the paper void coexist: the administration is running a legal pressure campaign through Treasury while the president free-lances the rhetoric.