The US Senate delivered a sharp and rare bipartisan rebuke to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, voting to force the removal of American troops from the conflict with Iran.
In a tight 50-48 vote, the US Senate passed a resolution directing the president to pull US forces out of the Iran conflict. Four Republican senators, Rand Paul, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Bill Cassidy, broke ranks to join Democrats in support of the measure. One Democrat, Senator John Fetterman, voted against it.
The resolution passed partly because two key Republicans, Mitch McConnell and Dave McCormick, who had opposed similar measures in the past, were absent from the vote.
The move reflects growing unease within Congress about the risks of escalation in the region and marks another attempt by lawmakers, especially Democrats, to rein in the president’s ability to take military action against Iran without congressional approval.
According to reports, a small but increasing number of Republicans have begun showing support for these efforts in recent weeks. The measure had earlier passed the US House of Representatives by a vote of 215-208, with four Republicans voting alongside Democrats.
Following that vote, Trump criticised the lawmakers on Truth Social, describing them as “GRANDSTANDERS” and calling their actions “unpatriotic”.
Despite its passage in both chambers, the resolution is a concurrent resolution and therefore does not require the president’s signature. It also does not carry the force of law.
Reacting to the Senate vote, a White House official dismissed the significance of the measure.
“Concurrent resolutions do not go to the president and have no force of law,” the official said, according to CNN.
The official also argued that the resolution was largely symbolic and attributed its passage to the absence of several Republican senators.
The resolution directs the president to remove US armed forces from hostilities against Iran. However, the White House maintained that such a requirement was unnecessary because “there are no hostilities from which to remove US forces, as hostilities terminated with the ceasefire on April 7th”, as reported by CNN.
CNN reported that a Democratic aide involved in advancing the measure disputed that interpretation, arguing that the resolution would be binding and that any disagreement over its effect would likely become a legal matter.
This is now the tenth time the Senate has voted on Iran-related war powers measures since the start of the year, according to CNN.
A similar proposal passed the Senate last month but is still awaiting a final vote, as Democrats work to build stronger support for it.
Even as diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran continue, some Democratic senators are keeping up the pressure for Congress to have a real say in any future military action against Iran.
The repeated votes highlight the ongoing tug-of-war in Washington over war powers, specifically, how much authority the president should have to engage US forces in the Middle East without congressional approval.
(with ANI inputs)
