WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday rejected a military resolution aimed at preventing President Donald Trump from continuing military action against Iran.
The vote was 47-53, short of the simple majority needed to send the resolution to the Senate floor.
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat who joined the Republicans in voting no, while Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to join Democrats in voting yes.
This decision, approved by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is calling for the withdrawal of “the United States Military from war within or against Iran, unless expressly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for the use of military force.”
On Thursday, the House is expected to vote on a similar war power resolution.
Kaine and other Democrats pointed out that the Constitution gives 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 vice that doesn’t lead to a level that will be seen as war. You can’t stand up and say this is one and done, and there are no soldiers fighting Iran. Members of the Senate, this is war!” Kaine said in a low-key speech before the vote.
“The president of the United States called it a war against Iran. The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Caine, called it a war against Iran. Secretary Rubio, our secretary of state, called it a war against Iran … It’s a war,” Kaine said.
The two votes represent the first efforts by Congress to impeach Trump since he ordered strikes over the weekend on Iran.
The first, allied campaign with Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, most of his top officials, and severely damaged the country’s military power. Trump did not put a timeline on the war, saying it could last four to five weeks or more.
“Whatever it takes,” he said Monday.
The votes also gave lawmakers their first opportunity to debate the Iran war on the floor of the House and Senate. But the resolution’s failure gives Trump full authority to continue his war on Iran.
Iran retaliated against America’s Arab allies in the region, which resulted in the death of six members of the US. Four have since been publicly identified as military personnel; the other two haven’t yet.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., the former chairman of the Armed Services Committee who had personally urged Trump to strike Iran, warned his Senate colleagues that accepting Kaine’s resolution would handcuff the president in the middle of a war.
“He will start a program where 535 people, after 60 days, will be the commander-in-chief, grind the nation’s ability to defend itself to stand,” Graham said of the 535 members of Congress.
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 allows the president to engage the military in armed conflict as long as he notifies Congress within 48 hours, and provides a 60-day timeline to begin withdrawal, unless Congress authorizes a declaration of war or authorization of the use of military force.
Graham noted that the legislative branch still controls the reins of government. “If you want to stop this war, you say ‘We won’t pay for it,'” he said. “I won’t agree with you, but at least it will be constitutional.”
