The United States Senate has advanced a War Powers Resolution that could prevent President Donald Trump from using military force against Iran without congressional authorisation, Newswire reported, citing Al Jazeera.
The procedural vote passed on Tuesday by a margin of 50 to 47, with a handful of Republicans joining Democratic colleagues in a rare rebuke of the president. The result shows a small but growing number of Republicans are increasingly uneasy with a war that shows no signs of ending despite a fragile ceasefire.
“This president is like a toddler playing with a loaded gun,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote. “If there was ever a time to support our war powers resolution to withdraw troops from hostilities with Iran, it’s now.”
The result reverses the chamber’s April 16 rejection of an earlier war powers resolution on a 47–52 split. Trump’s Republicans had blocked seven previous attempts in the Senate this year and three resolutions by narrow votes in the House.
The resolution faces steep hurdles. Three Republicans were absent on Tuesday, and their votes could defeat the measure if they maintain their stance in favour of the war. Even if it passes the 100-member Senate, the resolution must also clear the Republican-led House and secure two-thirds majorities in both chambers to survive an expected Trump veto.
Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, a US president can wage military action for only 60 days before ending it or seeking congressional authorisation. Trump declared on 1 May that the ceasefire with Tehran had “terminated” hostilities, but US troops continue to blockade Iranian ports and attack Iranian shipping, while Tehran’s forces are blocking access to the Strait of Hormuz and have attacked US vessels.
The vote underscores growing pressure on the president as the war, launched in late February, continues to wreak havoc on the global energy market and Sri Lanka’s oil and fuel supply chains running through the Hormuz corridor.
