WASHINGTON — The GOP-led Senate on Wednesday rejected a war powers resolution aimed at restricting President Donald Trump’s ability to carry out further military action against Iran.
The vote was 47-53, short of the simple majority needed to move the resolution to the Senate floor.
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to join Republicans in voting no, while Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to join Democrats in voting yes.
The resolution, introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., calls for removing “the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force.”
The House is expected to vote down a similar war powers resolution Thursday.
Kaine and other Democrats have pointed out that the Constitution grants Congress the authority to declare war and that Trump and his top officials are calling it a war.
"You can’t stand up and say this is a pinprick that doesn't lead to the level that would be characterized as war. You can’t stand up and say this is one and done and no troops are engaged in hostilities against Iran. Members of the Senate, this is war!” Kaine said in a floor speech before the vote.
"The president of the United States has called it a war against Iran. The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. [Dan] Caine, has called it a war against Iran. Secretary [Marco] Rubio, our secretary of state, has called it a war against Iran. ... It's a war," Kaine said.
The pair of votes are the first attempts by Congress to rein in Trump since he ordered strikes in Iran over the weekend.
The initial, joint operation with Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and many of his top lieutenants and severely damaged the country’s military capabilities. Trump has not put a timeline on the war, saying it could last four to five weeks or even longer.
"Whatever it takes," he said Monday.
The votes also gave lawmakers their first opportunity to substantially debate the Iran war on the House and Senate floors. But the resolutions' failure gives Trump implicit authorization to continue carrying it out.
Iran retaliated against America's Arab allies in the region, resulting in the deaths of six U.S. service members. Four have been publicly identified as Army reservists; the two others' identities have not yet been released.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a former chairman of the Armed Services Committee who had personally urged Trump to strike Iran, warned his Senate colleagues that adopting the Kaine resolution would handcuff Trump in the middle of a war.
"You’ll set in motion a system where 535 people, after 60 days, become the commander in chief, grinding this nation’s ability to defend itself to a halt," Graham said of the 535 members of Congress.
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 allows a president to engage the military in an armed conflict as long as he notifies Congress within 48 hours, and it gives a 60-day timeline to begin a withdrawal, unless Congress authorizes a declaration of war or authorizes the use of military force.
Graham noted that the legislative branch still controls the government's purse strings. "If you want to stop this war, say, 'We will not pay for it,'" he said. "I would not agree with you, but at least it would be constitutional."
