TL;DR
The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Tripoli reached the Persian Gulf on Friday — 5,000 Marines now in theater with no congressional authorization.
MSM Perspective
AP confirmed the arrival in a Pentagon pool report with no editorial framing about authorization.
X Perspective
X is tracking total ground-capable force at approximately 8,000 — Marines plus 82nd Airborne — deployed without a vote.
The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Tripoli arrived in the Persian Gulf on Friday morning, the Pentagon confirmed in a pool report. The 31st MEU joins the 11th MEU (USS Boxer), which advanced from its Pacific deployment on March 20. Combined, approximately 5,000 Marines are now in the Gulf theater. With the 82nd Airborne Division, which received written deployment orders on March 25, total ground-capable forces approach 8,000. [1]
None have been authorized by Congress. The Senate blocked the third war powers resolution on Tuesday, 53-47. The troops deploy under the president's Article II authority.
-- SAMUEL CRANE, Washington