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On Wednesday, a War Powers Resolution vote in the U.S. Senate failed to garner enough votes to end the Trump administration’s war on Iran, with the Republican majority blocking its advancement.
The vote was split largely on party lines, with just one member of each party crossing the political divide. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) sided with Democrats in favor of the vote, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) voted with Republicans.
The resolution received 47 votes in favor of blocking further military action in Iran, and 53 votes opposed.
Democratic senators had framed the vote not only as necessary for blocking President Donald Trump’s war on Iran — which he is waging without congressional approval, in violation of the Constitution — but also as a means for alerting voters to how their senators view the deeply unpopular war.
“Today every senator, every single one, will pick a side: Do you stand with the American people who are exhausted of forever wars in the Middle East? Or stand with Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth as they bumble us headfirst into another war?” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said in a floor speech preceding the vote.
“We can’t afford to hide under a desk and let any president, Democrat or Republican, send our best and brightest, our own kids, into war to risk their lives unless we have debated it, we have determined it is in the national interest, we have voted and thereby put our signature and our thumb print on the notion that it’s worth sending our best and brightest to risk their lives,” said resolution author Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia).
In a press release statement, Demand Progress Senior Policy Advisor Cavan Kharrazian blasted senators opposed to the War Powers Resolution vote.
“The American people will remember who voted to continue an illegal, unnecessary war,” Kharrazian said. “Every senator who voted against the war powers resolution also voted against the wishes of the American people and against the safety of the servicemembers they are sworn to protect.”
“The stakes are clear and there is no more time for political games. We cannot accept anything except full opposition to Trump’s war,” Kharrazian added. “This means no votes to authorize it for any period of time and no votes for spending a single penny on it.”
Although Trump has not officially declared war, he and other members of his administration have repeatedly described the U.S. military attacks on Iran as a “war.”
“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war,” Trump said in his message to Americans on Saturday.
Indeed, although the U.S. has conducted numerous long-term military campaigns over the past century — slaughtering and displacing millions of people and destabilizing nations across the globe — the country has not issued an official declaration of war since World War II. However, the terms of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 require presidents to seek congressional approval for military action, except in special emergency circumstances.
The constitutional powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to (1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.
In previous military actions, Trump has used past authorizations for use of military force (AUMFs) to justify his actions. However, he has not cited any such authorizations in his recent war with Iran. In a letter to Congress announcing the military campaign, the administration merely cited a “responsibility to protect Americans and United States interests both at home and abroad,” but failed to cite a specific imminent threat as the law requires.
Indeed, the administration’s narrative surrounding the war has shifted dramatically in the short time span since the U.S. launched its attacks last weekend. Officials have attempted to justify the war by falsely claiming that attacks on U.S. bases in the Middle East (and, absurdly, in the U.S. itself) were imminent, baselessly suggesting that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon, and citing a supposed need for regime change.
At one point, Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that attacking Iran was necessary because Iran would strike the U.S. if it were to be attacked — circular reasoning that sought to place blame for the start of the war solely on Israel, despite the U.S. and Israel jointly planning an attack on Iran for several months. Trump allies have also peddled blatant Islamophobia in attempting to justify the war, with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) claiming it is necessary because of Iran’s “misguided” beliefs.
Although this War Powers Resolution vote has failed, other Senate votes could take place in the near future. Two resolutions are also set to be voted on within the House of Representatives — one that, similar to the Senate version, calls for the immediate withdrawal of military forces from the region, and another version that would allow the president 30 days to continue the war before requiring reauthorization votes to extend it.
Several organizations — including Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, Palestinian Youth Movement, National Iranian American Council (NIAC), and The People’s Forum — have planned a mass demonstration for this weekend, in multiple U.S. cities, demanding an end to the war on Iran.
In an interview with Truthout, ANSWER Coalition’s West Coast coordinator, Richard Becker, decried the decision to go to war.
“This is obviously a war of choice, a war of aggression, a violation of the U.S. Constitution, and an immoral, illegal, horrendous act against a country, and against a people, who are now living under the bombs that are falling from U.S. and Israeli war planes,” Becker said. “And it has the possibility of becoming a much wider war.”
Becker also explained that mass demonstrations would be the best way to pressure Congress into holding Trump accountable.
“It’s going to take the intervention of the people in the political struggle and process to bring about real change,” Becker said. “It’s not going to come from Congress — it’s going to come from the people.”
Becker added:
The key element is what the people do now, and not just one demonstration, but we have to build a new anti-war, people’s movement, that becomes a permanent and growing feature of the whole political scene.
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