WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate handed President Donald Trump a decisive political victory on Wednesday night, voting down a Democratic-led war powers resolution that would have forced the commander-in-chief to seek congressional approval before continuing military operations against Iran. The 47-53 vote, falling almost entirely along party lines, effectively gave the White House a green light to prosecute Operation Epic Fury for as long as it sees fit — even as a new analysis reveals the campaign is burning through nearly $900 million per day.
As the war enters its sixth day on Thursday, March 5, the scale of the conflict is staggering. More than 50,000 U.S. troops, 200 fighter aircraft, two aircraft carrier strike groups, and B-2 stealth bombers are engaged in round-the-clock operations stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. Both President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have indicated the conflict could continue for weeks — a timeline that has sent shockwaves through Washington’s political establishment and global financial markets alike.
The Senate Vote: A Bitter Partisan Divide
The war powers resolution, introduced by Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine, would have required the president to obtain explicit congressional authorization to continue waging war against Iran. It was the eighth such resolution Congress has voted on since June 2025 — and like all the others, it failed.
The procedural vote broke down almost perfectly along party lines: all but one Republican voted against advancing the measure, while all but one Democrat supported it. Senate Majority Leader John Thune framed the vote as a matter of national security, arguing that second-guessing military operations mid-campaign would embolden Tehran.
Democrats were furious. Senator Kaine called the result “a complete abdication of Congress’s constitutional responsibility,” warning that the Senate was writing a “blank check for endless war.” A separate House vote is expected in the coming days, though it faces similarly steep odds given Republican control of the chamber.
The political reality is clear: Operation Epic Fury will continue without congressional restraint for the foreseeable future.
$3.7 Billion in 100 Hours: The Staggering Price Tag
A bombshell analysis published Thursday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated that Operation Epic Fury has already cost American taxpayers approximately $3.7 billion in its first 100 hours. That works out to roughly $900 million per day — a burn rate driven overwhelmingly by the massive expenditure of precision-guided munitions, cruise missiles, and other advanced ordnance.
The CSIS report warned that because most of this spending is not included in the current defense budget, the Pentagon will soon need to submit an emergency supplemental funding request to Congress. With both Trump and Hegseth signaling the war could last weeks, the total cost could quickly balloon into the tens of billions.
Among the weapons making their combat debut: the U.S. Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), a long-range weapon fired from HIMARS launchers that has been used to strike targets deep inside Iranian territory. Defense analysts say the deployment marks a significant milestone in U.S. military capability, but each missile carries a price tag in the millions.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said Tuesday that the military was conducting “24/7 strikes into Iran from seabed to space and cyberspace.” CENTCOM released dramatic combat footage from the first 100 hours of operations showing precision missiles destroying Iranian military vehicles, command facilities, and air defense systems.
War Spreads Far Beyond Iran’s Borders
Perhaps the most alarming development of Day 6 is how rapidly the conflict is expanding beyond the Middle East. In the past 48 hours alone:
- A U.S. submarine torpedoed and sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka — thousands of miles from the Persian Gulf. At least 87 Iranian sailors were killed, with 32 survivors rescued by Sri Lankan forces and now recovering at Galle National Hospital. Defense Secretary Hegseth described it as “a prize ship” and called the strike “a quiet death.” The Pentagon released black-and-white footage of the torpedo impact.
- NATO shot down an Iranian ballistic missile headed for Turkey — the first time the alliance has directly intercepted an Iranian weapon. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday that despite the incident, the alliance does not plan to trigger Article 5 — its mutual defense clause.
- Kuwait has intercepted dozens of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones since the conflict began, according to the country’s state news agency.
- Iran has fired over 500 ballistic and naval missiles and nearly 2,000 drones since February 28, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency. Approximately 40% have been aimed at Israel, with the remaining 60% targeting U.S. forces and regional allies.
- Israel ordered a forced evacuation of the entirety of Beirut’s southern suburbs, home to hundreds of thousands of people, as it expanded its parallel operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The human cost continues to mount. Iran says at least 1,230 people have been killed since the campaign began on February 28. The Pentagon has confirmed the deaths of at least six American service members, including soldiers killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait on Sunday. Five additional deaths were announced by the Defense Department on Thursday.
Hegseth Heads to CENTCOM as Operations Intensify
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is traveling to U.S. Central Command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday for operational updates with Admiral Cooper. The visit signals the administration’s intent to personally oversee the next phase of the campaign.
During a press conference earlier this week, Hegseth declared that Iran “cannot outlast” the United States in a fight and that the rules of engagement were designed to “unleash American power.” He characterized the operation’s first 100 hours as featuring “the most precise aerial operations in history.”
Meanwhile, President Trump made waves on Thursday by declaring he wants to be “involved in picking Iran’s next leader” — a stunning statement that underscores the regime-change objectives at the heart of Operation Epic Fury. The joint U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening hours of the campaign on February 28, and Iran has since been grappling with a power vacuum. Khamenei’s funeral has been postponed, and Iranian state television was briefly hacked to broadcast a message from the exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.
Global Ripple Effects: Oil, Markets, and Alliances
The Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil passes daily — remains effectively shut down, sending crude prices into a sustained spike. The conflict has already drawn in at least 10 nations either through direct military action or collateral strikes.
Tehran has struck back with fury, though its capabilities appear to be degrading. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the U.S. would “bitterly regret” the sinking of the IRIS Dena and vowed that Iran is “ready for invasion.” But Western military analysts say Iran’s air defenses and command-and-control infrastructure have been severely degraded after six days of continuous bombardment.
China, meanwhile, is watching closely. Analysts at Townhall noted that Operation Epic Fury is “sending shockwaves through Beijing,” with implications for Taiwan and broader Indo-Pacific security dynamics.
What Comes Next
With the Senate vote clearing the political path, the Pentagon’s war machine operating at full throttle, and no diplomatic off-ramp in sight, Operation Epic Fury appears poised to enter a protracted phase. A separate House war powers vote is expected but unlikely to succeed. Iran has rejected all overtures for negotiation, though earlier reports suggested Tehran secretly reached out to the CIA for ceasefire talks.
The question now is not whether the war will continue — it will. The question is how long, at what cost, and how far it will spread before it’s over.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as the situation evolves.