The US Senate, by a narrow margin, rejected consideration of a resolution that would have prohibited President Donald Trump from ordering new strikes on Iran without congressional approval.
This is reported by The Washington Post.
Democrats were just one vote short of Republicans to pass the resolution — it failed on a procedural vote by a vote of 48 to 47. And although four Republicans joined the Democrats in voting — it still wasnʼt enough.
One Democrat, Senator John Fetterman (Pennsylvania), voted against. Five senators — Bernie Sanders (Independent, Vermont), Josh Hawley (Republican, Missouri), Mitch McConnell (Republican, Kentucky), Cory Booker (Democrat, New Jersey) and Michael Bennett (Democrat, Colorado) — missed the vote, but their absence was not decisive. If they had all voted as they had on previous resolutions, Tuesdayʼs resolution would have failed by a 50-50 margin.
The Senate can still consider the war powers resolution introduced last month. The House would need to vote on the resolution at least twice more to pass it — and even then, it could still be vetoed by Trump. To override his veto, the Senate and House need a two-thirds majority.
Democrats in both of their resolutions cite the War Powers Act of 1973. It requires the president to withdraw US troops from any conflict not authorized by Congress within 60 days. For the Middle East war, that deadline was May 1, but Trump said the fighting effectively ended after a ceasefire took effect in April.
- On June 15, the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding that is expected to be the first step towards a final peace agreement.
- At the time, Axios reported that the memorandum would extend the ceasefire for 60 days, restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and begin negotiations on Iranʼs nuclear program.
- According to Reuters, the US-Iran peace deal also includes a $300 billion fund.
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