The US Senate, with a Republican majority, voted on Tuesday on a resolution aimed at stopping US military action against Iran, but it was not immediately clear how this would affect the war, as President Donald Trump’s administration negotiates a peace agreement with the Islamic Republic.
The Senate voted 50-48 in favor of the joint resolution, which was adopted by the House of Representatives earlier this month, reflecting growing concerns even among some of Trump’s Republican allies about the unpopular conflict that began on February 28, according to Reuters and The Associated Press.
The vote was largely along party lines, but four Republicans - Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana - joined all Democrats, except one, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, in voting in favor of the resolution.
In addition, two Republicans did not vote, and that made a difference. These are Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was recently hospitalized for reasons not made public, and Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican from Pennsylvania, who also missed the vote. Their absence left the Republican Party without the majority needed to block the initiative, with the four Republican senators who voted in favor having done so on other occasions as well.
Landmark in the US Senate
It is the first time the Senate has managed to vote on a resolution regarding war powers, aimed at blocking US military action against Iran, while lawmakers cautiously watch President Donald Trump's efforts to resolve a conflict that the administration initiated on its own and now needs funding from Congress for.
However, it was the tenth time the Senate tried to stop the war, and the outcome, obtained with a 50-48 vote, represented a surprising turnaround from previous efforts.
Although the resolution is largely symbolic and does not have full legal force, it reflects the growing concerns of a number of Republican lawmakers, both in the House of Representatives and the Senate, regarding both the war and the agreement Trump made with Iran to end it.
The House of Representatives had approved the resolution earlier this month.
The vote also comes at a time when the Pentagon is asking Congress for $80 billion, primarily for the war with Iran, to replenish ammunition stocks and reserves.
A Symbolic Vote
The resolution directs Trump to withdraw US armed forces from hostilities with Iran, but nevertheless, it is likely to remain just a symbolic vote. According to the War Powers Act of 1973, the measure is not sent to the White House to be signed by Trump. However, the White House has insisted that the legislation is not constitutional and therefore not binding.
Legal experts say this remains a contested legal issue that will likely be resolved in court.
"The executive branch will likely ignore it on constitutional grounds, but it is not clear who might have standing to bring a lawsuit to enforce it," said Scott Anderson, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and editor-in-chief of the online legal publication Lawfare.