The GOP-led Senate on Wednesday rejected a war powers resolution aimed at restricting President Donald Trump’s ability to take further military action against Iran.
The vote was 47–53, short of the simple majority needed to take the proposal to the Senate.
Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote with the Republicans.
while Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote with the Democrats.
Resolution: Introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-VA, it “calls for the removal of United States armed forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless expressly authorised by a declaration of war or a specific authorisation for the use of military force.”
The House is expected to vote on a similar war powers resolution on Thursday.
Kaine and other Democrats have pointed out that the Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war and that Trump and his top officials are calling it war.
“You can’t stand up and say this is a prick that doesn’t rise to the level that would be described as a war. You cannot claim this has been one without acknowledging that troops are engaged in hostilities against Iran. Members of the Senate, this is war!” Kaine said in a speech before the vote.
“The President of the United States has called it a war against Iran. The Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. [Dan] Kane, has called it a war against Iran. Secretary [Marco]: Our Secretary of State Rubio has called it a war against Iran. … This is a war,” Cain said.
The pair of votes are the first attempts by Congress to rein in Trump after he ordered attacks in Iran over the weekend.
The initial, joint campaign with Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several of his top lieutenants and severely damaged the country’s military capabilities. Trump has not put a timeline on the war and has said it could last four to five weeks or even longer.
“Whatever it takes,” he said Monday.
The votes also gave lawmakers the first opportunity to have a significant debate on the Iran war in the House and Senate. But the proposal’s failure gives Trump implicit authority to pursue it.
Iran retaliated against America’s Arab allies in the region, resulting in the deaths of six American service members. Four have been publicly identified as Army reservists; the identities of the two others have not yet been released.
Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the former chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who personally urged Trump to attack Iran, warned his Senate colleagues that adopting the Kaine resolution would handcuff Trump in the middle of a war.
“You will set up a system where 535 people, after 60 days, become commander-in-chief, destroying the ability of this country to defend itself,” Graham said of the 535 members of Congress.
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 allows the President to involve the military in an armed conflict as long as he notifies Congress within 48 hours, and it gives a 60-day deadline to begin withdrawal unless Congress authorises a declaration of war or the use of military force.
Graham said the legislative branch still controls the government’s finances. “If you want to stop this war, say, ‘We will not pay for it,'” he said. “I won’t agree with you, but at least it would be constitutional.”
