Senate Passes Iran War Powers Resolution 50-48 With Four Republicans

The Senate on Tuesday approved a House-passed resolution directing President Donald Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress authorizes them, a symbolic rebuke that CBS News said is the first such measure to clear both chambers. The vote was 50-48. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky voted with most Democrats, while Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, voted no, according to CBS and CNBC. Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell and Dave McCormick did not vote; CNBC reported that McConnell has been ill and McCormick was traveling with Trump to a rally in Pennsylvania.

The measure is a concurrent resolution under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which means it does not need the president’s signature and will not become law. CBS reported it will likely be largely symbolic because the administration argues that U.S. forces are not currently engaged in hostilities with Iran, and some officials consider the 1973 law unconstitutional. The Guardian reported that Trump and his Republican allies have questioned the law’s constitutionality. Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday night that the vote was “poorly timed and meaningless” and that the four Republicans “have just made my job more difficult,” CBS reported.

Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who sponsored the resolution, said it is binding and that he will “explore all legal avenues to ensure the Executive complies with the will of Congress.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the war a “historic blunder,” citing high gas prices and the deaths of 13 service members, the Guardian reported. The House adopted the measure June 3, with four Republicans and all Democrats in favor, CBS reported; it was the 10th war powers vote forced in the Senate since the war began in late February, according to both CBS and CNBC.

The vote came as the administration works through a 60-day negotiating window with Tehran. The Treasury Department on Monday issued a 60-day license allowing Iran to produce and sell oil in U.S. dollars through Aug. 21, CNBC reported separately, and Trump has said any oil revenue is meant to buy American farm goods rather than rebuild Iran’s military. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican who voted against the resolution, told reporters he expects Congress would likely vote on any broader deal, though he did not know whether it would be a resolution of disapproval or something else. Many senators are still “anxious to hear more” from negotiators, he said, according to CNBC.

Several Republican senators have praised Trump’s effort to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz but have raised concerns about possible sanctions relief, frozen Iranian assets, a proposed reconstruction fund and whether Tehran will accept enforceable limits on its nuclear program, CNBC reported. Public opinion is part of the backdrop: a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday found that 23 percent of Americans think the United States is stronger because of the war, and nearly two-thirds think any truce is unlikely to last, according to the Guardian.

Democrats may press further. The Senate has previously advanced a separate joint resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, which would require the president’s signature, on a 50-47 vote last month, CBS reported, and Schumer has said Democrats are trying to pick off more Republicans before moving it again.