Senate to vote on war powers resolution to prevent Trump from continuing Iran conflict | US Congress

Senate Republicans are expected to vote on Wednesday on a Democratic-backed war powers resolution that would prevent Donald Trump from continuing the conflict against Iran; Majority Leader John Thune argues that the president “acted in the best interest of the nation.”

Democrats condemned Trump for ordering an air campaign against Iran without authorization from Congress and offered differing explanations of his goals. The war powers resolution, introduced by Democratic senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff and minority leader Chuck Schumer, would end U.S. involvement in current hostilities and require the president to go to Congress before re-entering the war.

“We should not be at war without debate and vote. That was the intent of the framers,” Kaine told reporters Tuesday. “When we do it the right way, we protect our troops. When we do it the wrong way, we put them at risk.”

50 votes will be required for the resolution to move forward. Democrats control 47 seats, but Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said he would oppose the resolution, meaning at least five Republicans would have to join them for it to succeed.

The chances of that happening diminished on Tuesday when Thune told reporters he believed Trump had the necessary authority to campaign with the US military working with Israel.

Asked at a news conference Tuesday if Trump would at some point seek congressional approval to resume the conflict, Thune said, “The president has the authority he needs to conduct the activities and operations that are being conducted there.”

“I think the President is acting in the best interest of the nation and our national security interests by ensuring that Americans and American bases and facilities in that area, as well as the bases of our allies, are protected.”

Democratic senator Chris Murphy predicted the resolution would “probably fail” but said it would still provide an important opportunity to consider the rationale for the dispute.

“We should not be voting to move on to other legislation until we have a discussion about this deeply unsavory, immoral and illegal war with Iran,” Murphy told reporters after receiving a classified briefing from administration officials on Tuesday afternoon.

In the House of Representatives, Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie have introduced their own war powers resolutions that are expected to come to a vote on Thursday. But it also faces opposition from Republicans; Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that ending U.S. involvement in the conflict would be “dangerous.”

“The idea of ​​taking away the ability and authority of our commander-in-chief, the president, and finishing this job is a scary prospect for me. It’s dangerous,” Johnson said. “I’m definitely hopeful and believe we have the votes to eliminate this.”

Even if a war powers resolution were to clear the House and Senate, Trump could veto it and lawmakers would need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override it. The president also retaliated against lawmakers who left him over foreign policy issues; He said the four Republican senators who voted in January to advance a war powers bill blocking hostilities against Venezuela “should never be elected to office again.” Two of those senators later dropped their support and the measure failed.

Still, this week’s votes could offer some of Trump’s allies an opportunity to oppose a conflict that has so far resulted in the deaths of six U.S. soldiers and 787 people in Iran, according to the country’s Red Crescent.

Kentucky senator Rand Paul wrote about “As in all battles, my first and purest instinct [to] I wish American soldiers safety and success in their duties. But my oath of office is to the Constitution, so I must carefully oppose another Presidential war.”

Right-wing congressman Warren Davidson was similarly skeptical about involving the United States in the conflict without Congressional authorization, saying in an interview with CNN that Trump was “campaigning against starting a war in Iran.”

But he said he hoped administration officials who will brief lawmakers Tuesday afternoon could convince him of the president’s reasoning.

Davidson told CNN: “I want to see the intelligence that President Trump finds compelling and convince us. I’m open to being persuaded.”