The Senate passed the first war powers resolution since the start of the conflict, but Republicans argue it does not have the force of law.
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The Senate voted Tuesday to block President Donald Trump from resuming the war with Iran, setting up a potentially contentious fight with the White House.
The Senate passed the resolution 50-48, with four Republicans joining Democrats to support the measure. Two Republican senators — Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) and Dave McCormick (Pennsylvania) — missed the vote, allowing the measure to pass.
Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) voted for the resolution. One Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania), voted against it.
The vote marks one of the biggest fissures between Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate during his second term. It comes days after the Trump administration reached an agreement with the Iranian government to end the war, which several Republican senators strongly criticized for lifting sanctions on Iranian oil and taking steps toward setting up a $300 billion fund to rebuild Iran.
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Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), who has spearheaded Democrats’ repeated attempts to rein in the president’s war powers, argued that the agreement to end the conflict does not make the resolution any less urgent because Trump could decide to strike Iran again at any time. Trump threatened Sunday to “hit Iran very hard again” if Tehran does not restrain its proxies in Lebanon.
“We’ve stepped back from the most active phase of the war, and that’s a perfect time for Congress to step back and ask ourselves the question of, ‘What should the next chapter be?’ — rather than allowing one man to make that decision,” Kaine said Tuesday on the Senate floor.
The measure, which passed the House earlier this month, cannot be vetoed, but Democrats and Republicans disagree on whether it has the force of law.
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