The United States Senate voted on Tuesday to advance a controversial war powers resolution aimed at forcing President Donald Trump to withdraw American military forces currently engaged in hostilities against the Iranian regime, after previously failing to approve similar measures.
The political shift was propelled by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who lost his bid for a third term in Louisiana’s Republican primary just days prior on Saturday. Turning against his party's congressional leadership, Cassidy became the fourth Republican lawmaker to cross the aisle and vote in favor of the measure, according to The Hill.
With Cassidy’s backing, the Senate successfully passed a motion to discharge the war powers resolution out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by a narrow margin of 50 to 47. The procedural victory, originally sponsored by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), sets the stage for an upcoming floor vote to formally consider the mandate.
Cassidy joined three other long-standing Republican critics of the administration’s foreign policy interventions: Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
Conversely, the vote exposed minor fractures within the opposition party. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) broke lockstep with his caucus, standing alone as the solitary Democrat who voted to block the resolution from advancing to the Senate floor.
Tuesday’s razor-thin victory represents a symbolic milestone for congressional opponents of the war. It marks the eighth time since the initial outbreak of military operations that the Senate has voted on a motion to advance a resolution ordering Trump to cease hostilities against Iran, but it is the first time that such a motion has successfully advanced out of committee.
Despite the procedural breakthrough, the anti-war resolution faces an insurmountable path before it can exert any actual force of law. Even if the full Senate manages to gather enough votes to pass the war powers restriction, the exact same measure would still need to clear the House of Representatives and receive the president's signature.
President Trump remains certain to veto any legislative attempt to restrict his commander-in-chief authorities, and the current congressional coalition lacks the necessary two-thirds supermajority support in both legislative chambers required to override an executive veto.
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