The US Senate voted on Tuesday to advance a measure to force President Donald Trump to withdraw the US from hostilities in Iran or seek congressional approval to continue military action.
Procedural voting on the war powers resolution has taken place seven times since Trump launched the war against Iran in late February. But the Democratic-led effort has been rejected each time by Republicans.
It was the first time the legislation was advanced in the House, meaning a final vote on the proposal is now set to take place in the coming weeks.
But Tuesday’s vote is procedural and faces huge hurdles before it can take effect.
Bill Cassidy switched sides to cast crucial vote
Two main factors helped push the vote, which passed 50–47.
One, Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who lost his primary over the weekend in which Trump endorsed his opponent, switched sides for the first time to cast a crucial vote to pass the legislation.
In doing so, he joined with three other Republican senators – Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine – to support the procedural resolution.
The second aspect is that three Republicans did not vote this time.
John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote against the measure.
Signs of growing uneasiness over Iran war
The result was a victory for lawmakers who argued that Congress, rather than the President, should have the power to send troops to war, as stated in the Constitution.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia argued that the existing ceasefire gave Trump an ideal opportunity to make his case to Congress, as he said Iran has offered a new proposal to end the war.
Kaine, who sponsored the resolution, said during debate before the vote, “This is the right time to have a discussion before starting a war again. The President is getting peace and diplomatic proposals that he is throwing in the trash without sharing them with us.”
But the legislation would still need to pass the Republican-controlled House and even if it did, it would almost certainly face a presidential veto.
Still, Tuesday’s vote is seen as a symbolic victory for Democrats and a turnaround among Republicans, who have blocked seven previous attempts to pass the resolutions in the Senate this year.
What is war powers law?
The War Powers Act of 1973, passed in response to the Vietnam War, states that a U.S. President can take military action for only 60 days before ending it and can seek congressional authorization or a 30-day extension due to “unavoidable military necessity in connection with the safety of the U.S. armed forces” when withdrawing troops.
On May 1, when the 60-day period ended, Trump declared that the ceasefire had “ceased” hostilities against Iran.
Nevertheless, the US continues to block Iranian ports and attack Iranian ships, while Tehran is still strategically blocking the Strait of Hormuz and attacking US ships.
On Monday, Trump said he had canceled a planned strike on Iran on Tuesday at the request of three Gulf states that would have restarted fighting. The President has since continued his regular threats to attack Iran if the ongoing talks do not yield results.
Edited by: Rana Taha