**Senate Defeats War Powers Resolution Aimed at Limiting Military Action Against Iran**
Washington – The Senate defeated a war powers resolution on Wednesday that sought to block President Trump from escalating the conflict with Iran, as the operation approached its fourth week.
In a 53 to 47 vote, a Democrat-led effort to restrict Mr. Trump from taking military action in Iran fell short for the third time. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote against advancing the resolution, while GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky supported it.
The resolution, led by Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, would have required the president to “remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force.” Notably, Congress has not authorized military force against Iran.
The vote took place amidst an unusual and lengthy debate among Republicans over elections legislation, which was being pushed by Mr. Trump. The president has threatened to withhold his signature from other bills until this measure passes. Despite this “floor takeover,” Democrats were able to force the war powers vote because the resolution is privileged.
This was not the first attempt to limit Mr. Trump’s war powers regarding Iran. The Senate had previously defeated a similar resolution introduced by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia on March 4. This marks the second time in less than a year that an effort to rein in the president’s ability to strike Iran was turned down, the first being after U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites last June.
As the war in Iran nears the one-month mark, Mr. Trump has yet to outline a clear exit strategy and has not ruled out deploying ground forces. The president has said he expects the conflict to end “soon,” but has not provided a specific timeline.
Following the early March defeat, a group of Democratic senators vowed to keep pushing the issue. They demanded that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testify publicly about the war. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, these senators indicated they would drop votes on several resolutions if the Trump officials appeared at public hearings.
“We’re going to use every lever that we have to stop business as usual and force the Senate to do what it should have done already,” Booker told reporters earlier this month.
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, accused the Trump administration of avoiding public hearings on Iran out of fear of losing public support for the war.
“I don’t think they can defend this war,” Murphy said. “I think they’ll lose votes in the Senate if they actually have to go in front of the American public and explain why gas prices are so high, explain whether we’re engaged in regime change or not, and explain how they’re going to secure nuclear weapons and materials without a ground invasion.”
On Wednesday, the Trump administration’s top intelligence officials testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee during a hearing centered on the release of the annual worldwide threats assessment. However, questions largely focused on Iran. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard deferred to Mr. Trump when pressed on the president’s claims that Iran posed an “imminent” threat to the United States.
The administration and most congressional Republicans argue that Mr. Trump acted within his legal authority when ordering strikes against Iran. In a letter to Congress in early March, the president justified the strikes as necessary to eliminate threats.
“Despite my Administration’s repeated efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution to Iran’s malign behavior, the threat to the United States and its allies and partners became untenable,” the president wrote. He acknowledged, however, that “it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-defeats-trump-iran-war-powers-vote-booker/
