The US Senate on Friday (Jun 27) narrowly blocked an effort to curb President Donald Trump’s authority to launch further military action against Iran without congressional approval.
This comes just days after he ordered airstrikes targeting Tehran’s nuclear programme. The vote on the war powers’ resolution, as per reports, failed 47-53, falling just short of the 51 votes required for passage. The voting was largely along party lines, with only a few notable defections. The resolution sought to reassert Congress’s constitutional role in decisions of war and peace.
Trump’s war powers remain in place
Reports suggest that Republican Senator Rand Paul broke ranks to support the measure curbing Trump’s war powers, while Democrat John Fetterman, a vocal supporter of Israel, sided with Republicans in Trump’s support. Ahead of the vote tally, Senator Tim Kaine, the democrat who introduced the resolution, told the Senate, “I think the events of this week have demonstrated that war is too big to be consigned to the decisions of any one person.”
Trump, meanwhile, made clear on Friday that he would not hesitate to order more strikes if future intelligence suggests Iran was resuming uranium enrichment at levels of concern.
“Sure, without question, absolutely,” Trump said during a press briefing, when asked about the possibility of a second wave of bombings.
Tensions over strike transparency
The resolution came amid growing frustration from Democrats, many of whom said they were briefed by administration officials on the recent Iran strikes but not given meaningful details-like target locations or intelligence justifications.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters he had received advance notice that a strike was imminent but said officials refused to disclose the operational specifics.
Meanwhile, questions continue to swirl around President Trump’s claim that the Iranian nuclear facilities targeted in the strikes were “completely destroyed.” A preliminary classified assessment, leaked to the press, reportedly found that while the bombings caused significant damage, they may have only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by a few months.
After a classified Senate briefing on Thursday, lawmakers said they were still waiting for a clearer picture.
“The point is: We don’t know,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) after the briefing. “Anybody who says we know with certainty is making it up because we have no final battle damage assessment.”
“Certainly, this mission was successful insofar as it extensively destroyed and perhaps severely damaged and set back the Iranian nuclear arms program. But how long and how much really remains to be determined by the intelligence community itself,” he added.