Senate fails to pass War Powers Resolution to limit military operations

Washington — The United States Senate on Wednesday (4 March) failed to pass a War Powers Resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump’s military operations against Iran, with Democrats and Republicans holding markedly different views on the issue.

With a 53–47 vote, the upper chamber, led by the Republican Party, blocked the resolution intended to prevent Trump from ordering further military strikes against Iran without Congress’s approval.

In remarks on the floor prior to the vote, Democratic members largely condemned military action against Iran, while most Republican members defended the president.

Senator Tim Kaine, a senior Democrat and co-sponsor of the resolution, said the administration and its various shifting reasons, even in closed-door settings, provided no evidence at all. According to him, the US faces an imminent threat of attack from Iran.

“Have we learned nothing from 25 years of war in the Middle East? Some 14,000 US soldiers and contractors have been killed in Iran and Afghanistan … hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths … in Iran and Afghanistan, more than $8 trillion (US$1 = Rp16,911) that should have been used for health services, housing, and education for the American people was instead spent on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And what have we got from all of that?” Kaine said.

Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat and Vice-Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the US should not be risking American lives on a plan that is unfinished, with unclear objectives, and a future that is wholly uncertain.

Meanwhile, Republican members argued that Trump’s actions in Iran are necessary and contended that Democrats oppose those actions for partisan reasons.