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Senate Approves War Powers Resolution 06/24 06:10
The Senate for the first time approved a war powers resolution Tuesday
seeking to block U.S. military action against Iran, as lawmakers warily watch
President Donald Trump's efforts to resolve a conflict that the administration
launched on its own and now needs Congress to fund.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate for the first time approved a war powers
resolution Tuesday seeking to block U.S. military action against Iran, as
lawmakers warily watch President Donald Trump's efforts to resolve a conflict
that the administration launched on its own and now needs Congress to fund.
It was the 10th time the Senate has tried to stop the war, and the outcome,
on a vote of 50-48, was a stunning turnaround from past efforts. While the
resolution is largely symbolic, and does not carry the full force of law, it
reflects the growing concerns from a number of Republican lawmakers in both the
House and Senate over both the war and the deal Trump struck with Iran to end
it. The House approved the resolution earlier this month.
Trump responded angrily Tuesday night on his Truth Social platform, calling
the vote "poorly timed and meaningless" and saying it "provided aid and
comfort" to Iran.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said, "Time after time,
the vast majority of Senate Republicans sided with Trump and his war instead of
the American people."
Schumer said Americans have paid the price for "Trump's historic blunder in
Iran. It'll go down in the history books as one of the worst foreign policy
forays America has ever made."
In the past, as many as four GOP senators have voted for the war powers
resolutions, and they did so Tuesday -- Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska,
Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
One Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, voted against.
Trump bashed the four Republicans as losers, saying, "These senators have
made my job more difficult."
On this vote, the absence of two Republicans, including Sen. Mitch McConnell
of Kentucky, who was admitted to the hospital recently for an undisclosed
matter, left the GOP without a full majority to halt the effort. Sen. Dave
McCormick, R-Pa., also missed the vote.
The vote comes as the Pentagon is seeking $80 billion from Congress mostly
for the Iran war as it backfills munitions and stockpiles.
Trump to meet senators as Republicans balk at Iran deal
Trump himself is headed to the Capitol on Wednesday to meet with GOP
senators after Vice President JD Vance was overseas working to negotiate with
Iran to end its nuclear ambitions -- which had been among the stated rationales
for the war.
The president is not pleased with the Republicans who have been critical of
the deal he struck with Iran, according to one GOP senator granted anonymity to
discuss the private dynamics.
The terms of the Iran deal are spelled out in a memorandum of understanding
that Trump signed last week, starting a 60-day clock for the sides to reach a
broader agreement over ending Iran's nuclear program.
But Republicans have particularly objected to the $300 billion fund to help
Iran rebuild, which is far greater than the $1.7 billion then-President Barack
Obama refunded the country under his administration's 2015 Iran deal.
"I believe President Trump is getting very poor advice on Iran," Sen. Ted
Cruz, R-Texas, said last week on his podcast after the deal was made public.
Democrats have repeatedly forced Iran votes
Over and again, Democrats have been forcing votes on the Iran war, almost
since the U.S. and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
Nearly each week they're in session, the Senate Democrats have put forward
war powers resolutions, but they have failed to amass the majority needed for
passage in the narrowly split chamber, where Trump's Republican Party holds the
majority. Trump would almost certainly veto any measure that passed.
The House pushed its own version to passage earlier this month, with four
Republicans joining all Democrats in approving the war powers resolution, over
the objections of House Speaker Mike Johnson and the GOP leadership.
While the House- and Senate-passed resolution does not go to the president
for his signature, passage stands as a powerful, if symbolic, statement from
Congress and a rebuke of the administration's military actions.
Sen. Tim Kaine, the Democrat from Virginia who has led his party's efforts,
said the pause in warfighting, as Trump's team works to shore up a fragile
ceasefire, provides the perfect time for Congress to step back and assess "what
should the next chapter be."
Hegseth seeks $80 billion from Congress for the Iran war
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is on Capitol Hill this week, seeking roughly
$80 billion in supplemental funding to shore up defense supplies in the
aftermath of the Iran war, which is drawing scrutiny when many Americans are
reeling from high gas prices and costs of living.
The Pentagon early on had estimated the war cost $11.3 billion during its
first week, and senators said experts put the overall price tag of Operation
Epic Fury higher, at some $100 billion.
The Defense Department's funding request is part of a broader beef-up of
military money the White House wants as part of its budget request this year.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday, "We should not spend
another dime of taxpayer dollars on Operation Epic Failure."
The Trump administration is seeking $1.5 trillion in defense funding this
year -- a nearly 50% increase -- including $350 billion that it wants in a
so-called budget reconciliation package. Johnson and GOP leaders are working to
pass that package on their own, over the objections of Democrats, much the way
they approved Trump's big tax cuts bill last year.
The 2025 tax cuts package also included a sizable increase for the military.
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