Washington — The Senate on Tuesday advanced a resolution aimed at limiting President Trump’s war powers in Iran, marking a significant breakthrough for Democrats after seven previous attempts had failed. Senators approved a motion to discharge the resolution from committee in a 50-47 vote. Notably, four Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — sided with the majority of Democrats to push the resolution forward. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the sole Democrat to vote against it.
This vote was particularly significant as it marked the first time Senator Cassidy had supported advancing a war powers resolution. His vote came days after he failed to secure enough support to advance to a runoff in the Louisiana GOP Senate primary, where Mr. Trump had endorsed one of his opponents. Additionally, three Republicans — Senators John Cornyn of Texas, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — did not cast votes, which ultimately tipped the scales in favor of the Democrats for the first time since they began introducing war powers resolutions concerning Iran.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer released a statement following the measure’s advancement, declaring, “Vote by vote, Democrats are breaking through Republicans’ wall of silence on Trump’s illegal war.” He added, “Today proved our pressure is working: Republicans are starting to crack, and momentum is building to check him. We are not letting up.”
The resolution, spearheaded by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, seeks to direct the president to “remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force.”
While this vote represents only an initial step in the Senate and the president is expected to veto the resolution even if both chambers approve it, Democrats believe the move carries substantial significance and could potentially influence the president’s approach to the conflict. Ahead of the vote, Kaine told reporters he couldn’t predict whether it would garner additional GOP support, noting he “didn’t know that we would get an additional vote last week” when Murkowski became the third Republican to back the resolution’s advancement. “But I do know this: I know what we are all hearing from our constituents, and that is, they are deeply opposed to this war,” Kaine stated.
The vote occurred amidst President Trump’s Monday announcement that the U.S. would not proceed with “scheduled” attacks on Iran on Tuesday, though he also mentioned being “an hour away” from ordering new strikes. Kaine argued that this threat makes it “the perfect time to do what we should have done in February, and have a congressional discussion about rationale, plan, straits.” The Virginia Democrat also highlighted the economic toll of the war and the rising gas prices affecting Americans. “We’re coming up on Memorial Day. A lot of people do a lot of driving, they’re going to be paying a lot for gas — a whole lot more than they paid last year, and they remember that,” he said. Kaine concluded that the public’s lack of support for the war “is really hardening right now,” and that “will be what eventually gets us to pass the resolution here. Is it there yet? I don’t know, but it is coming.”
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