US Senate passes war powers resolution challenging Trump’s Iran war authority | Donald Trump
The US Senate has approved a war powers resolution preventing Donald Trump from resuming hostilities against Iran, delivering a significant but symbolic rebuke to the president for a conflict that is unpopular with the American public.
The resolution passed by a vote of 50 to 48, with four Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky — severing ties with their party. We support its adoption. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote against the resolution.
The measure, which passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, would require the president to get permission from Congress to use military force against Iran. This comes after Trump sent JD Vance to Switzerland to negotiate a deal to resolve the conflict that the US started with Israel in February.
The resolution does not require the president’s signature, and Trump and his Republican allies have questioned the constitutionality of the 1973 War Powers Act under which the resolution was passed. However, its success underscores discontent among Republicans in a deeply unpopular clash with voters ahead of November midterm elections in which Republicans will assert their control of Congress.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday found that only 23% of Americans believe the United States is stronger because of the war with Iran; Nearly two-thirds think any ceasefire with Tehran is unlikely to last long.
The resolution’s passage in the Senate was made possible by the absence of two Republicans: Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was hospitalized last week. Neither supported previous war authorization resolutions that Democrats have regularly forced to vote on since the start of the war with Iran.
“Trump’s historic mistake on Iran will go down in the history books as one of the worst foreign policy moves America or any country has ever made,” Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement before Tuesday’s vote. “The American people witnessed skyrocketing gas prices, rising costs, and the tragic loss of 13 soldiers and hundreds injured, while Iran took Trump to the cleaners.”
Greg Meeks, the top Democrat on the House foreign relations committee who sponsored the resolution, said in a statement that he would “explore all legal avenues to ensure that the executive branch complies with the will of Congress.”
“Congress never authorized this failed war, and the president has absolutely no authority to continue it indefinitely without our consent as required by the Constitution,” Meeks said.
