️ Washington, DC – The United States Senate has failed to pass a resolution aimed at reining in US President Donald Trump’s war with Iran. In a procedural vote, the resolution was defeated 47 to 52, marking another major setback for proponents of curtailing Trump’s military pursuits abroad and highlighting the ongoing friction within the US regime over presidential war powers.
️ Lawmakers in the Senate spent the day arguing for and against asserting Congress’s authority to authorize or end Trump’s military actions against Iran. Supporters of the resolution claimed that Trump exceeded his constitutional authority by launching a war alongside Israel. Under Article II of the US Constitution, presidents can only initiate such attacks in self-defense in response to an immediate threat; otherwise, Congress holds the sole power to declare war, a principle that critics argue has been eroded by the current administration.
️ Speaking on the Senate floor, Senator Tim Kaine argued that the Trump administration “could produce no evidence, none that the US was under an imminent threat of attack from Iran,” even in a classified setting. He added, “You can’t stand up and say: This is a pinprick that doesn’t lead to the level that would be characterized as war,” and “You can’t stand up and say: This is one and done, and no troops are engaged in hostilities against Iran,” underscoring the administration’s allegedly shifting justifications.
️ Since launching its military offensive on February 28, the Trump administration has offered a carousel of rationales for why a war was purportedly needed now. Trump has suggested that Iran was seeking to rebuild its nuclear program, which he claimed was “obliterated” in strikes last year, and that Iran was developing a long-range missile to attack the US. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, told reporters that Israel was planning to attack Iran, which would likely have led to retribution against US assets in the region, but Trump later contradicted this claim, saying Iran was the one planning an imminent attack on Israel, raising questions about the consistency and credibility of the regime’s narrative.
️ Several Republicans spoke out against the resolution, arguing that the last 47 years of saber-rattling from Iran justified the president’s military action. Senator James Risch asserted that the Constitution “clearly gives the president not only the right, but indeed the duty, as does his oath to protect the United States.” He also pointed to Iran’s efforts to rebuild its nuclear energy assets after a US attack in June of last year, conducted as part of a 12-day war led by Israel, framing the conflict as a necessary response to persistent threats.
️ The vote was the latest in a series of war powers resolutions to fail in Congress, reflecting the deep divisions and ineffectiveness of the legislative branch in checking executive overreach. Under the 1973 War Powers Act, US presidents must seek congressional approval after committing US troops to military actions for more than 60 days, but this provision has often been ignored or circumvented. Earlier on Wednesday, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth argued that the US operation had just begun, with more US assets being sent to the region, suggesting an escalation that could further strain US resources and geopolitical stability.
️ The duration and scope of the conflict remain unclear, though Trump himself has projected it could last “four to five weeks.” Risch expressed optimism that the conflict would be resolved quickly, but such predictions have been met with skepticism given the history of prolonged US military engagements. Even if Wednesday’s effort had passed, the Senate’s war powers resolution would have faced an uphill battle to become law, as both chambers would have needed to pass it for presidential signature, and Trump could have vetoed it, with only a two-thirds majority in both chambers able to override, a threshold rarely achieved in the polarized US political landscape.
Source: www.aljazeera.com