- Measure introduced by Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Rand Paul.
- Democrats say Trump bypassed Congress when he ordered an air campaign.
- The resolution would have required congressional agreement for continued U.S. participation.
WASHINGTON: The US Senate on Wednesday rejected a resolution aimed at curbing President Donald Trump’s authority to pursue military strikes against Iran, in a narrow show of congressional support for a conflict launched without explicit approval from lawmakers.
The bipartisan measure, introduced by Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Rand Paul, would have required the withdrawal of U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress authorized the campaign.
But while Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the upper house of Congress and largely support the president’s decision to attack Iran alongside Israel, the resolution fell short of exactly that margin.
The vote came five days after a rapidly expanding conflict that has already killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several senior Tehran officials, while U.S. soldiers died in an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Kuwait.
Democrats argue that Trump unconstitutionally bypassed Congress when he ordered the air campaign and say the administration has offered shifting justifications for the war.
“Let me put it this way, there has been no presentation of evidence in this room … to suggest that the United States faced an imminent threat from Iran,” Kaine told AFP after a classified briefing by administration officials.
Republicans have largely rallied behind their leader, although some have signaled that their support could wane if the war expands or prolongs.
“Roadside bombs from Iran have maimed and killed hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans,” Lindsey Graham, a top Trump loyalist in the Senate and a longtime supporter of confrontation with Iran, said on X.
“They mean it when they say ‘Death to America.’ I’m glad we didn’t let it go any further. I’m glad we didn’t let them build more missiles.”
‘Knocked out’
For the resolution to pass, Democrats would have needed at least four Republicans to join Paul. One Democrat, Pennsylvania centrist John Fetterman, opposed the resolution.
Even if the measure had been approved by the Senate and House of Representatives — where a vote on a similar resolution is expected Thursday — Trump could have vetoed it. Congress would have needed an almost certainly unattainable two-thirds majority in both houses to defeat the president.
Governments around the world have rushed to evacuate citizens stranded by the Middle East war, sparked by U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Khamenei and triggered retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the Gulf.
Cities like Dubai and Riyadh – long considered isolated from the region’s unrest – have been drawn into crisis as the conflict spreads across the region.
The debate in Congress over Trump’s authority to wage war reflects broader unease on Capitol Hill over the scale and duration of the military campaign.
Administration officials told lawmakers in confidential briefings this week that the operation could last weeks and require additional funding from Congress. Lawmakers from both parties say the Pentagon could soon seek emergency funds to replenish its weapons stockpiles and continue operations.
The War Powers Resolution invokes the War Powers Act of 1973, passed after the Vietnam War, which allows Congress to force votes on military commitments and limits unauthorized conflicts to 60 days.
Democrats acknowledged the measure was very risky, but said it was essential to force lawmakers to take a public stance on the war.
