On a Wednesday in May, the United States Senate stopped, by a single vote, a bid to require the president to seek congressional approval for the war with Iran. The contest turns on an old question the republic has never fully settled: when a war begins and when it must end, and who decides. Both sides invoke the 1973 law written after Vietnam, and both claim its logic, leaving the question of whether a ceasefire has ended a war as an open test of how far the constitutional balance of power still holds.
Senate Blocks Latest Iran War Powers Measure, but Republican Support Grows to Three
It failed by one vote, and a third Republican crossed over
Mark
Why does a 50-49 loss matter if the resolution still failed?
Mimi
Because it's the closest this effort has come. Three Republicans voted to advance it, and the margin is one vote.
Luke
Worth saying, though, that it failed. Closer is not passed, and the story doesn't tell us anyone else is wavering.
Mark
What's the dispute over the 60-day clock?
Mimi
Trump said a ceasefire terminated hostilities when the deadline hit on May 1. Democrats say fighting continues, so the clock still runs.
Luke
Note who is saying what. Merkley's list of blockades and attacks is his account. The reporting attributes it to him rather than independently confirming each item.
Mark
Fetterman went the other way, didn't he?
Mimi
Yes, the one Democrat who voted with Republicans to block it. That's why the count was 50-49 rather than wider.
Luke
We don't know his reasons from this piece. Nothing here explains either his vote or the three Republicans' motives.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
Democrats say they'll force a vote every week until the war ends or Trump seeks authorization.
Luke
That's a stated plan. Whether the margin actually flips depends on votes we haven't seen yet.
Der Puls
- The Senate blocked the Merkley war powers resolution 50-49, a margin so thin that one more defection would have changed the outcome.
- Three Republicans, Paul, Collins and Murkowski, broke ranks, while Democrat John Fetterman crossed over to stand with the majority.
- The 60-day War Powers deadline passed May 1, and Trump's claim that a ceasefire ended hostilities is now the central dispute.
- Democrats say blockades and strikes on ships prove the fighting continues, and they vow a fresh vote every week until the war ends or Trump seeks authorization.
On a Wednesday in May, the United States Senate stopped, by a single vote, a bid to require the president to seek congressional approval for the war with Iran. The contest turns on an old question the republic has never fully settled: when a war begins and when it must end, and who decides. Both sides invoke the 1973 law written after Vietnam, and both claim its logic, leaving the question of whether a ceasefire has ended a war as an open test of how far the constitutional balance of power still holds.
On Wednesday afternoon the Senate voted 50-49 not to advance a resolution requiring President Trump to obtain congressional authorization for the war with Iran. The measure failed, but it came within one vote of succeeding, and the number of Republicans willing to support it has grown to three. Senators Rand Paul, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats, while John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted with Republicans.
The vote came just after the 60-day mark on May 1, when Trump was supposed to come to Congress about the war. Instead, he declared that a ceasefire had ended hostilities. That claim is the heart of the dispute. The 1973 War Powers law allows a president 60 days of military action before he must end it, seek authorization, or request a 30-day extension. Sponsor Jeff Merkley and other Democrats argue the fighting continues, pointing to a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and attacks on ships on both sides.
Republicans and the White House maintain that the actions are lawful, within the president's authority as commander-in-chief, and some accuse Democrats of acting out of partisanship. Democrats counter that the Constitution reserves the power to declare war to Congress. Merkley and his colleagues plan to bring another resolution next week and every week after, until the war ends or Trump seeks authorization. With the margin now a single vote, each test will depend on whether those three Republicans hold firm and whether others follow.
On Wednesday afternoon the U.S. Senate voted 50-49 not to advance a resolution that would have required President Donald Trump to get congressional authorization for the war with Iran. The measure failed, but it came within a single vote of a different outcome, and the number of Republicans willing to back it has now grown to three.
The resolution was sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon. Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted with Democrats to move it forward. One Democrat, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, crossed the other way and voted with Republicans to block it. The tally was nearly along party lines, but not quite, and the defections on both sides are what produced the margin.
It was the seventh time this year that Senate Republicans have blocked a similar resolution. It was also the first Senate vote since the conflict reached the 60-day mark on May 1, the point at which Trump was supposed to come to Congress about the war. Trump declared then that a ceasefire had terminated hostilities against Iran.
That declaration matters because of the 1973 War Powers law, passed in response to the Vietnam War. Under it, a president can conduct military action for only 60 days before he must end it, ask Congress for authorization, or seek a 30-day extension citing the unavoidable military necessity of protecting U.S. forces while withdrawing them. Trump's position is that a ceasefire stopped the clock from applying.
Democrats reject that reading. Merkley told reporters before the vote that there is no cessation of hostilities, pointing to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and strikes on Iranian ships, as well as Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks on U.S. ships and tankers. In his words, both sides remain engaged in hostilities, and he does not accept that the 60-day clock is suspended.
The argument rests on more than the statute. Democrats note that the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war, and they have urged Trump to seek authorization to use military force. They have also warned that he may have drawn the country into a lengthy conflict without laying out a clear strategy.
Republicans and the White House answer that Trump's actions are legal and fall within his authority as commander-in-chief to protect the country through limited military operations. Some congressional Republicans have also accused Democrats of filing the war powers resolutions out of partisan opposition to Trump rather than principle. Democrats in the House have introduced their own war powers resolutions, which Republicans have blocked as well.
The Senate fight is not ending. Merkley and other Democrats said they will bring another war powers resolution next week, and every week after, until the war ends or Trump comes to Congress for authorization. With the margin now a single vote, each of those weekly tests will turn on whether Paul, Collins and Murkowski hold their positions, and whether anyone joins them.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
There's not a cessation of war hostilities.— Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon
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