The Senate on Thursday rejected a war powers resolution that would have required President Trump to get congressional approval for any nondefensive military action against Iran.
The Democrat-led measure failed 53-47, mostly along party lines.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was the only Republican to vote in support of reclaiming Congress’ power to declare war — a term Mr. Trump used in his initial video recording announcing the military operation against Iran.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote against the war powers resolution and has enthusiastically backed the military operation against Iran. He has praised Mr. Trump for being willing “to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region.”
The House is set to vote Thursday on a similar war powers resolution, which is also expected to fail.
The votes have sparked a debate about whether the ongoing strikes on Iran, launched Saturday as part of Operation Epic Fury, were a defensive response to an imminent threat — action the War Powers Act allows a president to take without approval from Congress.
“Only when it became clear that Iran was preparing to attack our troops and our allies did President Trump strike first,” said Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming. “Operation Epic Fury is a defensive action against a clear, present, and accelerating danger.”
Most Republicans said Mr. Trump was responding to an imminent threat, while Democrats said the intelligence that administration officials shared during classified briefings this week did not support that claim.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, warned Republicans that if they voted against the resolution, they would own the consequences of an escalating war against Iran.
He cited Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s press conference earlier in the day in which he said the military operation was “accelerating, not decelerating.”
Mr. Schumer also referred to Mr. Trump’s warnings that there will likely be more casualties after six U.S. service members have been killed as “madness,” given lessons learned from two decades of Americans fighting and dying in the Middle East.
“So many lives lost. So many billions wasted. So much suffering and anguish that scarred an entire generation,” he said. “Why is Donald Trump hellbent on making history repeat itself? Why is he plunging America headfirst into a war that Americans do not want, and which he cannot even explain? Enough is enough.”
Republicans said Mr. Trump’s action against Iran is not about starting a war but creating “peace through strength” after failed efforts at negotiating a diplomatic solution.
“President Trump took decisive action so neither Iran nor its proxies can ever take another one of our citizens’ lives. And the objective is clear: Ensure no American has to live under the threat of Iran-backed terror again,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican. “Like every American, I have no desire to see a long, drawn-out war, but this is a mission worthy of being completed.”
Ms. Ernst, who served in Iraq and Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom, said she has heard from America’s allies in the Middle East who are supporting the attacks on Iran in hopes that destroying the regime and its arsenal will finally bring peace and prosperity to the region.
Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat, had planned to force a vote on the war powers resolution directing Mr. Trump to cease military hostilities against Iran “unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force” even before Operation Epic Fury started.
But with the operation underway and Iran engaged in retaliatory strikes, the resolution likely would not have had much of an immediate impact because of its exemptions. The measure would have still allowed the U.S. to defend itself against an imminent attack and assist Israel and other nations in taking defensive action against Iran without congressional approval.
Still, some lawmakers worried that passing the war powers resolution could hamper the military operation.
Sen. Todd Young, Indiana Republican, said it could force the Trump administration to withdraw troops “amidst this destabilization.”
“So for better or for worse — and let’s hope in the end it’s for better — we’re going to have to accomplish these objectives, which is ensuring that Iran never has access to a nuclear weapon and that their missile production is stopped,” he said.
Mr. Young said he wants to see Congress step up its oversight of Operation Epic Fury, and that if it does not end as quickly as the administration is currently predicting, there could be a need for lawmakers to consider an authorization for use of military force defining the scope of continued engagement.
Sen. Susan M. Collins, Maine Republican, made a similar argument for her vote against the war powers resolution.
“Passing this resolution now would send the wrong message to Iran and to our troops. At this juncture, providing unequivocal support to our service members is critically important, as is ongoing consultation by the administration with Congress,” she said.
Sen. John Curtis, Utah Republican, recorded a video message for his constituents in which he said he wished Congress had been asked to vote to authorize military action against Iran in advance, but that he believes Mr. Trump acted within his legal authority.
“While it might be a little unclear because Congress, in the Constitution, has the ability to declare war, the president, in the Constitution, is also the commander in chief,” he said. “So, there has been, throughout the entire time of our country, this tug and pull between Congress and the president.”
Mr. Barrasso said the War Powers Act “never intended to allow Congress to micromanage military operations” and that Democrats have used it “as a partisan battering ram.”
“This is Sen. Kaine’s fifth war powers resolution since President Trump returned to office a little more than a year ago,” he said. “These resolutions have been used only 11 times in 50 years. The senator from Virginia alone accounts for nearly half of them. Yet Sen. Kaine introduced zero war powers resolutions when Barack Obama and Joe Biden were president.”
Mr. Kaine has said Mr. Trump has broken his campaign promise to end wars instead of start them, and it is important to put lawmakers on the record as to whether they support his actions.
“Nobody gets to hide and give the president an easy pass or an end-run around the Constitution,” he said. “Everybody’s got to declare whether they’re for this war or against it.”
