After 10 attempts, the Senate finally voted on Tuesday to block President Donald Trump from resuming the war with Iran without congressional approval.
Four Republicans — Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — joined all but one Democrat in supporting the concurrent resolution which was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month. Republican Senators Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky missed the vote, allowing it to pass by a 50-48 tally.
This was the 10th war powers vote to come before the chamber and the only one to pass.
A concurrent resolution does not go to a president’s desk for signature or veto, but the War Powers Resolution of 1973 directs that U.S. forces “shall be removed by the President if the Congress so directs by concurrent resolution.” This marks the first time that both the House and Senate have approved a concurrent resolution related to war powers.
Following the vote, Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote in a statement that the measure “is binding on the president and directs him to cease hostilities against Iran.”
The question of whether such a resolution is legally binding has not been adjudicated in the courts, but, as journalist David Sirota wrote when the House version was approved, “lawmakers could have standing to go to court to request the judiciary enforce the measure,” if the Senate were to pass the legislation.
It’s unclear if Democrats will choose to pursue a legal battle amid the recent Memorandum of Understanding and ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran, but Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told Sirota in early June that he would “work with House counsel to urge leadership to bring a court case to enforce the Iran War Powers Resolution.” In his statement, Meeks also said that he would “explore all legal avenues to ensure the Executive complies with the will of Congress.”
While some Democrats have criticized Trump’s diplomatic agreement with Tehran — even suggesting they would find ways to kill it — every Democratic senator but John Fetterman voted to block the president from re-engaging in hostilities.
“Trump & Netanyahu's Iran War has been a disaster from the start,” Sen. Chris van Hollen wrote on X. “The question now is not whether the deal to end this war is perfect but whether continuing the war would make things better. It would not.”