14 resolutions. 14 defeats. Democrats tried to strip Trump’s Cuba war powers. Again.
On April 28, 2026, Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) called a floor vote on a War Powers Resolution to block President Trump from conducting an unauthorized military blockade of Cuba. Republicans killed it 51–47. John Fetterman — their own — voted to dismiss it. It was at least the fourteenth time Democrats had tried this maneuver on Iran, Venezuela, or Cuba since Trump took office. The fourteenth time it failed.
51–47. Rick Scott called it “moot.” The vote lasted 90 seconds.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) filed the Cuba War Powers Resolution in March 2026 and called it to the floor on April 28. The measure would have done two things: required the removal of U.S. forces from within or around Cuba absent a congressional authorization, and classified a Coast Guard or naval blockade of Cuba as a “hostile act” requiring congressional approval before it could continue.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) moved to dismiss the resolution as out of order, arguing the U.S. is not currently engaged in “hostilities” with Cuba in the legal sense required to trigger the War Powers Resolution Act of 1973. The motion to dismiss passed 51–47. Republicans held nearly unified — except for Susan Collins (R-ME) and Rand Paul (R-KY), who crossed over to let the resolution advance. It wasn’t enough. And Fetterman (D-PA) made it worse.
| Senator | Party / State | Vote | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Senate Republicans | R | YEA (dismiss) | Voted to kill resolution |
| Susan Collins | R-ME | NAY (advance) | Crossed over with Dems |
| Rand Paul | R-KY | NAY (advance) | Crossed over — libertarian war powers position |
| All Senate Democrats | D | NAY (advance) | Voted to advance |
| John Fetterman | D-PA | YEA (dismiss) | Only Dem to break ranks |
| Final tally: 51 – 47 to dismiss. Resolution fails. Motion to advance required 60 votes for cloture. | |||
Classify the blockade as an act of war. Require a congressional permission slip for every interception.
The resolution, formally titled a measure “to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Cuba that have not been authorized by Congress,” would have required the president to end the maritime pressure campaign on Cuba within 30 days unless Congress voted to authorize it. Under the resolution’s text, using the Coast Guard to intercept fuel tankers bound for Cuba would constitute a “hostile act” — triggering the 60-day clock and mandatory withdrawal provisions of the War Powers Resolution Act.
Republicans argued the framing was wrong: an energy blockade short of live fire does not constitute hostilities under existing law. The Scott motion rested on exactly that procedural ground.
“I've never heard the suggestion that Cuba poses an imminent security threat to the United States.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) — Senate floor, April 28, 2026
They’ve done this fourteen times. The result is always the same.
Since Trump took office and began projecting military force abroad without seeking congressional authorizations, Senate Democrats have filed war powers resolutions targeting Iran (ten-plus votes), Venezuela (three or more), and now Cuba. Every single one has failed. Republicans have voted in near-lockstep to dismiss them, with occasional defections from Rand Paul (who holds a consistent libertarian position on executive war powers) and Susan Collins.
The median margin: roughly four to six votes. The outcome: never in doubt. Democrats keep calling the votes anyway — partly to force Republicans on the record, partly to build the constitutional case for eventual litigation, and partly because the Senate’s Democratic leadership has few other tools left.
“Cuba’s going to be next.” Trump said it. Rubio confirmed the direction. The Coast Guard is already there.
In March 2026, Trump publicly stated: “I do believe I’ll have the honor of taking Cuba” after U.S. operations in Iran concluded. He has also said “We may stop by Cuba after we’re finished with this” — referring to the Iran campaign. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American from Florida who has spent his career calling for regime change in Havana, stated the administration would “love to see the regime there change.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Coast Guard and naval assets are already positioned to intercept fuel tankers bound for Cuba — a de facto maritime blockade that Democrats argue is already a hostile act under international law and the War Powers Resolution. The administration has not sought an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) from Congress. State Department officials visited Havana in April 2026 for diplomatic talks, but those talks are happening alongside, not instead of, the naval pressure campaign.
“Trump, Rubio, and the rest of the war hawks will continue to involve the US in more foreign wars.”
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) — statement, April 28, 2026
The only Democrat who voted to kill it was their own.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voted with Republicans to dismiss the Cuba War Powers Resolution — the same vote he has cast on multiple Iran and Venezuela resolutions. Fetterman, who has become the Senate Democratic caucus’s most visible dissenter from its foreign policy line, has argued that Democratic efforts to constrain Trump’s military posture put partisan opposition above national security. “Follow country, not party,” he said on a prior resolution. His vote on Cuba was the same message.
Fetterman’s defection didn’t change the math — the resolution was always going to fail by four votes or more. But it handed Republicans a talking point: even the most left-of-center industrial-state Democrat in the Senate thought this one was too far.
Scott called it “moot.” Collins and Paul crossed over. The other 49 held.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) — who represents the largest Cuban-American diaspora in the country — led the effort to dismiss the resolution on procedural grounds, arguing the U.S. is not in active hostilities with Cuba and therefore the War Powers Act does not yet apply. His motion succeeded.
Collins and Paul both voted to let the resolution advance — Collins on the grounds that Congress should have an oversight role regardless of whether hostilities have begun; Paul on his longstanding libertarian position that presidents of either party should not wage wars without congressional authorization. Their votes were principled, consistent, and insufficient: 51 Republicans held the line.
“Congress must make its voice heard, or we risk involvement in another risky war.”
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) — statement, April 28, 2026
From Iran to Venezuela to Cuba — the same vote, fourteen times over
Democrats have filed fourteen war powers resolutions. They have lost fourteen times. One of their own keeps voting against them.
The constitutional argument — that the president needs congressional authorization before blockading a nation 90 miles from Florida — is not frivolous. Rand Paul agrees. So does Susan Collins. But “not frivolous” does not mean “winnable.” Senate Republicans have calculated that the political cost of constraining Trump’s foreign policy is higher than the risk of being on record for an unauthorized Cuba blockade. They’ve been right fourteen times. Democrats have no leverage to change that math. The votes are purely performative now — a record for the history books, not a check on executive power.