Senate rejects latest push to rein in Trump’s powers in Iran as war’s off-ramp unclear

Washington — The Senate on Tuesday rejected the latest Democratic-led effort to rein in President Trump on Iran as the U.S. and Tehran send conflicting messages about how the war might end. 

The near party-line vote was 47 to 53, falling short of the simple majority it needed to advance. Every Republican except Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against it, while every Democrat except Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania backed it. 

Earlier this month, Democrats filed a handful of war powers resolutions to block Mr. Trump from continuing the military offensive against Iran without congressional approval. They vowed to continue forcing votes on the issue as a means of securing public testimony from Trump administration officials about the conflict. 

Tuesday’s vote on a resolution introduced by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is the third time since the conflict began on Feb. 28 that Senate Republicans have blocked efforts to challenge Mr. Trump’s authority to wage war on Iran. Another vote last year in the wake of strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities was also unsuccessful. 

“This is an extraordinary moment,” Murphy said during floor debate ahead of the vote. “I don’t think we have had a moment like this, where the United States has been unquestionably at war with a foreign power, where American soldiers are dying as we speak and it is being hidden actively from the public by the Congress.” 

Murphy argued there haven’t been public hearings on the matter because the administration “cannot defend and explain this war.” He called the war’s consequences  “stunning in their scope.” 

“If they are not willing to come to Congress and defend this war, it speaks to the indictment of the preparation and strategy,” he said. 

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who has led the war powers push, said “any proposal of this magnitude that’s going to risk the lives of our troops should be subjected to the most searing examination that we would do of anything in this body.” 

The Trump administration and Republicans have argued that the president does not need congressional authorization because the Constitution and the 1973 War Powers Act grant him authority to order military action in self-defense. Mr. Trump has claimed that Iran posed an “imminent” threat to the U.S., though critics have pushed back on the assertion. 

Mr. Trump has said for weeks that the war would wrap up soon, but the off-ramp remains unclear. Pentagon officials have made detailed preparations for deploying U.S. ground forces into Iran as the president weighs next moves. 

On Monday, Mr. Trump announced that military strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure, which he previously threatened over the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, would be postponed for five days. Mr. Trump has also said that talks with Iran are underway, though Iran has denied any direct discussions. A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official confirmed to CBS News that the U.S. sent Iran a message through mediators.

Democrats in the lower chamber could also move on another war powers resolution soon, but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was noncommittal on a timeline Tuesday. 

Jeffries said there are “ongoing conversations” about moving forward “sooner rather than later” but they want to put something on the floor that is successful. 

“When we present something on the floor, it’s our determination to win,” he said.