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Senate blocks war powers resolution in near party-line vote - Roll Call

The Senate on Friday evening narrowly rejected along mostly party lines an effort by Democrats to force a floor vote on a measure to restrict President Donald Trump from launching future attacks on Iran without congressional authorization.

Opponents defeated, 47-53, a motion to discharge from the Foreign Relations Committee a war powers joint resolution by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that would prohibit any offensive U.S. military attacks against Iran if Congress has not issued a declaration of war or a new authorization for use of military force.

“We shouldn’t premise a decision to send our sons and daughters into war on the judgment of a single person,” Kaine said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, a hawkish supporter of Israel, was the lone Democrat to vote against the motion.

Since being elected to Congress in 2012, Kaine has consistently pushed for Congress to exercise its constitutional powers over whether and when to use military force outside of responding to an imminent attack.

In his floor remarks, he flagged a 2013 letter signed by numerous House members, including a handful now serving as senators, that strongly urged then-President Barack Obama to seek authorization from Congress before ordering a military intervention in Syria.

“Engaging our military in Syria when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution,” reads the letter, whose signatories included Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., James Lankford, R-Okla., Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Steve Daines, R-Mont.

Those five GOP lawmakers all voted against the motion Friday.

The vote effectively kills the measure in the Senate. Meanwhile, in the House there are two war powers resolutions, one sponsored by Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie and another by New York Democrat Gregory W. Meeks.

While there is still a chance one will come up for a vote in the House, Republicans in that chamber have more procedural tools available to strip them of their privileged status.

Though Trump initially insisted the attacks he ordered on Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend were a one-off, on Friday he reversed himself on the possibility of ordering further strikes on the Persian nation.

“Sure, without question, absolutely,” Trump said when asked if he would order another attack on Iran should the country resume its nuclear activities.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen said he was disturbed by Trump’s shifting positions on Iran as well as his recent remarks that he did “not know” if he had an obligation to uphold the Constitution. “We the United States Senate and the House should make clear that compliance with our Constitution is not optional,” the Maryland Democrat said.

Sen. Rand Paul was the sole Republican to vote with Democrats in favor of moving forward with restricting Trump’s ability to unilaterally attack Iran. He argued that U.S. troop presence was a significant liability in the region.

“Some 40,000 U.S. troops are scattered throughout the Middle East as we speak, some on large established bases, others on isolated outposts. It is impossible to ensure all of these locations have adequate air and missile defense capabilities,” the Kentucky Republican said in a Senate floor speech.

Tehran has claimed its nuclear program survived nearly two weeks of combined U.S.-Israeli attacks. The reality is it might take some time before it becomes clear what remains of Iran’s abilities amid questions about how much enriched uranium Iranian officials were able to smuggle out of nuclear sites before they were attacked and how much damage U.S. “bunker busters” did to Iran’s deep subterranean facilities.

Speaking against the war powers resolution, Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., praised Trump for his “wisdom and leadership,” and said his actions helped end an escalating conflict, referring to the ceasefire that was announced between Israel and Iran earlier this week.

“The idea that the president in the face of escalating threats can only sit idly by until Congress can hold hearings and schedule votes is not just naive, it’s reckless,” said Hagerty, who served as ambassador to Japan during the first Trump administration.

Friday’s vote capped a whirlwind week in Washington that began with the Saturday night announcement the U.S. military had launched surprise missile and bombing attacks on three of Iran’s nuclear sites. Trump and top Cabinet officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth immediately claimed complete success in “obliterating” Tehran’s nuclear program.

Democrats responded with outrage that the attacks happened without consultation or authorization from Congress and despite a recent assessment by the U.S. intelligence community that Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon.

Classified briefings for both chambers were abruptly canceled Tuesday as news began to leak that an initial assessment by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency had found that Iran’s nuclear program had not been obliterated but set back by months.

When the briefings were rescheduled later in the week, Democrats continued to express their discontent. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said the administration did not adequately answer questions on whether Iran’s program was completely destroyed nor did briefers offer a “coherent strategy” or endgame for achieving the longtime bipartisan goal of keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Republicans, however, appeared to be satisfied with the closed-door briefings.

“After this briefing, there’s no question that we delivered a decisive blow to Iran’s nuclear program,” said House Armed Services Chairman Mike D. Rogers, R-Ala., in a statement.

John T. Bennett contributed to this report.

The post Senate blocks war powers resolution in near party-line vote appeared first on Roll Call.

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