Senators Block Bid to Curb Trump’s Iran Military Action. Senate vote falls largely along party lines as debate grows over presidential war powers…reports Asian Lite News
Senate Republicans have backed President Donald Trump’s military campaign involving Iran, voting to block a bipartisan effort aimed at halting the air war and requiring congressional authorisation for further hostilities.
In a 53–47 vote, the Senate declined to advance the war powers resolution, with the outcome largely split along party lines. All but one Republican opposed the procedural motion, while all but one Democrat supported it.
The resolution represented the latest attempt by Democratic lawmakers, joined by a small number of Republicans, to limit President Trump’s use of US forces overseas. Its sponsors said the measure sought to reassert Congress’s constitutional authority to declare war.
Opponents rejected that argument, maintaining that the President’s actions were lawful and within his powers as commander in chief. They argued that the resolution could undermine US national security and place American service personnel at risk.
“This is not a forever war, indeed not even close to it. This is going to end very quickly,” Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a speech opposing the resolution.
The proposal had been widely expected to struggle. Republicans hold narrow majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and have previously blocked similar measures designed to curb presidential war-making authority.
Supporters of the resolution said they intended to continue pressing their case. Some Republicans who voted against advancing the measure indicated they would still seek public testimony from administration officials regarding the strategy towards Iran, particularly if military operations continue for weeks, as President Trump has suggested.
Debate surrounding the administration’s build-up of military assets in the Middle East, along with American and Israeli strikes targeting Iran, has focused on whether the United States risks becoming entangled in another prolonged overseas conflict. Comparisons have been drawn with the lengthy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Today senators face a choice, stand with the American people who are tired of war in the Middle East, or side with Donald Trump, who bumbled America into another war most Americans fiercely oppose,” said Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, a co-sponsor of the resolution.
Political observers note that control of Congress could shift following the midterm elections in November, and a prolonged conflict involving Iran may become a campaign issue. A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday found that roughly a quarter of Americans supported US strikes on Iran, while about half believed the President was too willing to use military force.
Beyond the Iran campaign, US forces have also been engaged in operations elsewhere. Since September, American forces have fired on vessels in the southern Caribbean and eastern Pacific in what the administration describes as efforts to deter Venezuelan drug trafficking. In January, President Trump ordered troops into Venezuela with the aim of capturing President Nicolas Maduro.
The expanding scope of military operations has heightened concern among some lawmakers about executive authority and oversight.
“It’s a war,” Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, a leading sponsor of the resolution, said while urging colleagues to support the measure.
He said he had pressed administration officials during a classified briefing for lawmakers to seek formal authorisation from Congress. “Your escalating pattern of military action without seeking our approval convinces me that you believe you never need to come to Congress, to wage war against anyone anywhere,” Kaine said.
Attention now turns to the House of Representatives, which is expected to vote on a similar war powers resolution concerning Iran. Speaking on Tuesday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said he believed there were sufficient votes in the chamber to defeat the measure. He described the proposal as an attempt to advance steps that could place US forces in danger and embolden Iranian opponents.
“Imagine a scenario where Congress would vote to tell the commander-in-chief that he was no longer allowed to complete this mission. That would be a very dangerous thing,” he told reporters after attending a classified briefing on the Iran conflict led by senior administration officials.
Even if war powers legislation were approved by both chambers of Congress, it would face significant procedural hurdles. Any such resolution would require two-thirds majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives to override a presidential veto, which President Trump would be expected to issue.
