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For the first time since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28, 2026, Congress has successfully pushed back on presidential war powers. Both the Senate and House have now passed resolutions invoking the War Powers Resolution of 1973, demanding explicit congressional authorization before military operations against Iran can continue beyond the statutory 60-day window.
The move is bipartisan, politically fraught, and already moving markets. Bitcoin surged to approximately $77,200 following the Senate vote, with ether, XRP, and Solana posting significant rebounds of their own.
What Congress actually did
The Senate kicked things off on May 19, 2026, passing S.J.Res. 185 by a razor-thin 50-47 vote. The resolution’s passage hinged on four Republican senators breaking ranks: Rand Paul, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Bill Cassidy.
The House followed on June 3-4, 2026, approving H.Con.Res. 38 with a 215-208 vote. Republican Representative Thomas Massie was among those crossing party lines to support the measure.
This wasn’t the first attempt. Seven prior resolutions in the Senate and four in the House had already failed before these latest measures finally broke through.
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing US forces to military action. It also caps unauthorized operations at 60 days, with a 30-day withdrawal period.
The market response tells a story
Bitcoin’s jump to roughly $77,200 after the Senate vote wasn’t random. Geopolitical de-escalation, or even the perception of it, tends to boost risk assets. When traders see Congress actively constraining the scope of a military conflict, they price in lower tail risk.
The rally wasn’t limited to Bitcoin. Ether, XRP, and Solana all posted notable rebounds, suggesting the move was driven by macro sentiment rather than any single token’s fundamentals.
Oil prices and Treasury yields also declined in the wake of the votes. Lower energy costs reduce inflation expectations. Lower yields make fixed-income alternatives less attractive. Both dynamics tend to push capital toward higher-risk, higher-reward assets.
What this means for crypto investors
The resolutions still face procedural hurdles. The House and Senate passed different measures, meaning reconciliation or further votes may be necessary before anything lands on the president’s desk. And even if a final resolution reaches the Oval Office, the president could veto it. Overriding a veto on a war powers question would require two-thirds majorities in both chambers, a threshold that the current vote margins of 50-47 and 215-208 fall well short of.
The bipartisan nature of these votes, with Republican senators and House members breaking ranks, signals that the political coalition supporting continued military action is fracturing.
The spread between Bitcoin’s current level near $77,200 and where it was trading before the conflict began provides a rough measure of how much geopolitical risk premium is still baked into crypto prices.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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