A bipartisan move to block any Pentagon money for military action against Iran — and prohibit President Trump from starting a war with Tehran unless Congress gave the green light — was rejected by the Senate on a vote held open for hours to allow absent lawmakers to weigh in.
The Friday vote came the day after the Senate passed its $750 billion version of the National Defense Authorization Act.
The restrictive amendment, needed a supermajority of 60 “yes” votes to pass, but failed on a vote of 50 for and 40 against. The bill’s sponsors included Democratic Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah.
Earlier in the week, Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York pushed for the restriction, calling the White House’s confrontational approach to Iran “inconsistent, opaque and sometimes even contradictory.” But Republican Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe told reporters that restricting Mr. Trump’s authority to use military force is “the worst thing you can do the president, and it’s obviously motivated in order to be bad for the president.”
Mr. Trump and his aides have repeatedly insisted they already have the authority for military action against Iran to protect American and allied interests in the Middle East, an argument many lawmakers reject.
The vote hit a procedural snag when as Senate Democrats initially sought to delay a vote because so many members of their caucus were participating in presidential primary debates in Florida this week, including two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moved the vote to Friday morning and held the vote open past 3 p.m. before the final tally was gaveled down.
The House of Representatives is still considering a similar measure on its version of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, and Iran war opponents vowed Friday to keep up the fight.
“A bipartisan majority of the Senate supported our amendment to prevent President Trump from starting an illegal war with Iran,” Mr. Kaine said on Twitter. “We may not have reached the 60-vote threshold, but we’ve sent a powerful message to the White House.”
“Abdication of Congress’ war powers is an affront to Americans who have a right to be involved, through their representatives, in decisions about war and peace, and an assault on U.S. foreign policy,” added Benjamin H. Friedman, policy director of the group Defense Priorities.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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