Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a measure that would have barred President Trump from continuing his offensive against Iran without authorization, moving for the second time since the conflict began to shut down a Democratic bid to limit his power to use American military force without congressional approval.
It was the latest in a series of efforts by Democrats in recent months to challenge Mr. Trump’s unilateral military moves and insist that Congress have a say in the use of American force abroad. And it came as Democrats have vowed to continue forcing such votes in a bid to compel top Trump administration officials to testify publicly about the ongoing conflict in Iran, about which they have so far only lawmakers only in classified settings.
The vote was 53 to 47, almost entirely along party lines, to block the measure, which would have halted offensive U.S. military operations in Iran and forced Mr. Trump to secure a vote of Congress to authorize it. Every Republican except Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a libertarian who routinely backs such war powers resolutions, opposed the measure, while all Democrats except Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania supported it.
Since the United States and Israel began joint airstrikes against Iran late last month, Democrats have demanded that the Trump administration share more information on the objectives, timeline and costs associated with the military campaign.
“We do not know Trump’s goals. We do not know Trump’s timeline,” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said ahead of the vote pushing for more transparency and public communication from the White House. “We do not know what victory even looks like in his eyes. Enough is enough.”
Days after the hostilities began, Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, was the first to offer a war powers resolution, in keeping with his role as the party leader forcing the issue. Wednesday’s measure was sponsored by Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, with backing from Mr. Kaine, among others.
“In the span of just two weeks, 13 U.S. service members have been killed and at least 200 of our American men and women have been injured,” Mr. Booker said in a speech ahead of the vote. He implored his colleagues to support the measure, but the outcome appeared to be foregone as Democrats had no indications that any Republicans had shifted in their support since the conflict began 18 days ago.
Mr. Booker and his colleagues noted that in that time period the conflict had expanded and still no public hearings had been held on Capitol Hill. “This administration, amidst all of this, has failed to come before the United States and the American people for public hearings to make its case on the biggest military war engagement since the war in Afghanistan,” Mr. Booker said.
Four other Senate Democrats have introduced similar resolutions that seek to invoke a provision in the 1973 War Powers Act, which requires expedited consideration of a challenge to the president’s ability to engage in hostilities without approval from and consultation with Congress. Both the Constitution and the War Powers Act allow the president to direct military actions in self-defense, which Mr. Trump and senior administration officials have argued was the case for the strikes in Iran.
During his State of the Union address days before the military campaign began, Mr. Trump claimed that Iran was “working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.” And immediately after the strikes began, on Feb. 28, he said in a recorded video that the objective of the mission was to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, contended that Iran and the leadership that has ruled there for nearly five decades had posed a risk to the United States during its entire existence.
“Iran has been an imminent threat to Americans for 47 years” Mr. Cotton said, pointing to the Iran hostage crisis, the bombing of a U.S. base that killed more than 200 Marines and other deadly attacks led by Iran.
But critics of the operation have said the administration has failed to provide evidence that such a threat currently existed and warranted the strikes. And top officials have offered shifting explanations of what prompted them, raising questions about the legal justification.
The Pentagon on Wednesday said that the United States had struck nearly 7,800 targets and damaged over 120 Iranian vessels since the beginning of the war across more than 8,000 combat flights.
By grinding the chamber to a halt and forcing all 100 members to debate and vote on questions related to the war in Iran, Democrats are briefly taking power away from Republicans, who control the Senate and would rather focus on other priorities, like a strict voter identification bill that Mr. Trump has demanded Congress deliver him. The focus on the war is also detracting from Republicans’ efforts to refocus their message on cost-of-living issues ahead of midterm elections in which their control of Congress is at stake.
Most Republicans have defended Mr. Trump’s decision to go to war, with many saying that presentations from top administration officials in classified briefings have satisfied the need to consult with Congress.
But Democrats have escalated their calls for more accountability. They have emerged from the same briefings arguing that not enough information was being shared and urging for more details to be provided in public settings.
Senator Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said last week that he expected Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to testify before relevant committees “in a nonclassified setting,” but did not provide a timeline for when such hearings would take place.
Megan Mineiro contributed reporting.
Robert Jimison covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on defense issues and foreign policy.
The post Senate G.O.P. Again Blocks Bid to Stop Iran War Until Trump Wins Authorization appeared first on New York Times.
