Senate rejects latest push to rein in Trump's powers in Iran as war's off-ramp unclear
CBSN
Washington — The Senate on Tuesday rejected the latest Democratic-led effort to rein in President Trump on Iran as the U.S. and Tehran send conflicting messages about how the war might end.
Washington — The Senate on Tuesday rejected the latest Democratic-led effort to rein in President Trump on Iran as the U.S. and Tehran send conflicting messages about how the war might end.
The near party-line vote was 47 to 53, falling short of the simple majority it needed to advance. Every Republican except Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against it, while every Democrat except Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania backed it.
Earlier this month, Democrats filed a handful of war powers resolutions to block Mr. Trump from continuing the military offensive against Iran without congressional approval. They vowed to continue forcing votes on the issue as a means of securing public testimony from Trump administration officials about the conflict.
Tuesday's vote on a resolution introduced by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is the third time since the conflict began on Feb. 28 that Senate Republicans have blocked efforts to challenge Mr. Trump's authority to wage war on Iran. Another vote last year in the wake of strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities was also unsuccessful.
"This is an extraordinary moment," Murphy said during floor debate ahead of the vote. "I don't think we have had a moment like this, where the United States has been unquestionably at war with a foreign power, where American soldiers are dying as we speak and it is being hidden actively from the public by the Congress."
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