DRUMS OF WAR

Attempt to Stop Trump’s Grip on War Fails

The move serves to effectively endorse the president’s war on Iran.

A war powers vote in the Senate held on Wednesday failed, with senators largely voting along party lines 53-47 to essentially endorse President Donald Trump’s war on Iran. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was the only Republican who supported the resolution to limit Trump’s military powers in Iran, even co-sponsoring the bill, while Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman voted against his own party in order to vote no. With Congress being the only branch of government that can officially declare war, opponents of Trump’s war on Capitol Hill will hold another war powers vote on Thursday in the House, though it is also expected to fail. Despite opposing Wednesday’s resolution and publicly supporting the president, some Republicans have expressed concerns about how long the war could last–particularly considering six U.S. service members have already been killed–telling reporters that they may be more inclined to support a war powers resolution in the future if the war exceeds the limited four-to-five-week timeframe initially suggested by the president. “If we’re talking months, not weeks, then you will see another vote,” one House Republican told Politico, adding that for now, Trump had some “leeway.”