ALBAWABA - The War Powers resolution, which states that only the U.S. Congress - not the president - has the right to declare wars, was passed in the Senate on Tuesday by a vote of 50-48.
The resolution which had earlier been passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 215 to 208, has now been passed by the Senate - highlighting the U.S. government’s mistrust of Trump’s war across party lines.
According to the resolution, Trump must either halt his war with Iran or ask for congressional permission to wage it, with this permission seeming out of reach for Trump - the resolution however; still faces a presidential veto that could make it meaningless.
CROSSING PARTY LINES
The vote passed despite a Republican majority congress with four Republicans crossing party lines and voting with the Democrats to end Trump’s belligerence in the Middle East; making history by passing the war powers resolution successfully through both House and Senate - something which has never happened before.
The four Republicans who voted for the resolution are Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky. With two Republicans refusing to vote: Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania.
Chuck Schumer, a top democrat in the senate, had blasted Trump and his war against Iran in the Senate on Tuesday, saying:
“For years, Trump promised to put maximum pressure on Iran, but he ended up delivering maximum confusion, maximum chaos, maximum cost to the American people with his disastrous war,” Schumer said.
“ Time after time, the vast majority of Senate Republicans sided with Trump and his war, instead of the American people. The American people have paid the price for Trump’s historic blunder in Iran. It’ll go down in the history books as one of the worst foreign policy forays America has ever made.”
Noting that this vote marks the 10th time the U.S. Congress had tried to pass a war powers resolution against Trump.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) holds a copy of the Declaration of Independence as he spoke on America's 250th Anniversary. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP)
CONCERNS ON NEGOTIATIONS
However, there were some vocal critics of the resolution’s passing, as they point out that it will harm the U.S. in its negotiations with Iran; weakening Trump’s standing in the face of Qalibaf and Araqchi, saying:
“If this passes, the Iranians are going to simply stand up and walk away from negotiations,” Senator James Risch of Idaho told the Senate chamber.
“They’re going to say: This thing’s over. The Congress has told the President of the United States, ‘Leave us alone. We can do whatever we want to do,’ and they will walk away.”
The war has been widely unpopular in the U.S., and indeed, across the world; in the U.S., a poll released on Tuesday found that only 24 percent of U.S. citizens felt the war had been worth the cost as prices for essential items like oil, gas, and fertilizer skyrocketed.
TRUMP’S POSTITION
Trump hasn’t felt any threat from the war power resolution’s passing, saying on The Axios Show last week that he hadn't learned any “lesson” about the limits of his executive powers during the Iran war. “There are no limits,” he said.
As U.S. Senator Risch noted that the resolution was essentially useless, given its symbolic nature. “It’s going to have no effect. The president isn’t going to pay any attention to it,” he said.
In any case, the resolution’s passing shows a strong bi-partisanal sentiment against the Iran war, seeing it for the waste of time and money that it is, as Iran vows not to pursue their nuclear ambitions, a vow they have given repeatedly to the U.S.
