The US Senate approved a war powers resolution on Tuesday that would prevent Donald Trump from continuing hostilities against Iran, delivering the president a significant but symbolic rebuke over a conflict that has proven unpopular with the American public.
The resolution passed by a 50-48 vote, with four Republicans – Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky – breaking with their party to support its adoption. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the sole Democrat to vote against the measure.
Resolution requires congressional authorization for Iran military action
The measure, which passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, would require the president to seek Congress’s authorization to use military force against Iran. It comes after Trump dispatched Vice President JD Vance to Switzerland to negotiate a settlement that would resolve the conflict the US began alongside Israel in February.
The resolution does not require the president’s signature, and Trump and his Republican allies have questioned the constitutionality of the 1973 War Powers Act under which it was passed. Nonetheless, its success underscores the discontent among Republicans over a conflict that has grown deeply unpopular with voters ahead of the November midterm elections, in which Republicans will be defending their control of Congress.
Absences of two Republicans enabled Senate passage
The resolution’s passage in the Senate was enabled by the absences of two Republicans: Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was admitted to the hospital last week. Neither has supported previous war powers resolutions, which Democrats have been forcing votes on regularly since the war with Iran began.
Other Trump administration news
In related developments, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said no country – including Iran – would be allowed to charge tolls for shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as he sought to reassure Gulf allies of a firm US line in peace negotiations with Tehran. Meanwhile, a group of Texas protesters convicted of terrorism charges received unusually harsh sentences of at least 50 years in prison, in a case seen as a test of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on dissent.
Donald Trump acknowledged that repairs to the algae-stricken reflecting pool in Washington DC may not be completed in time for the Fourth of July, when the president plans a big celebration on the National Mall for the country’s 250th birthday. A DC resident arrested near the pool plans to fight an obscenity charge, as Trump continues to blame vandals for the botched renovation, which cost $14.2 million.
Several staff members have reportedly been fired from the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, less than a week after Trump appointed Bill Pulte as acting director. In other news, a tech sell-off shook global markets, the Supreme Court refused to let a Rastafarian man sue Louisiana prison officials over a forced haircut, and eight Americans quarantined for hantavirus exposure were released.
