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The Senate late Wednesday night in a 47-50-1 vote opted not to rebuke the Trump administration a second time over its military conflict in Iran, as leaders convinced some Republican swing votes that doing so would harm the negotiations to end the war.
The resolution would have been Congress’ way to reassert its power to declare war and directed President Trump to “remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force.”
Sen. Rand Paul, who has voted with Democrats for similar resolutions in the past, said in a statement shortly before the vote that he would vote ‘present,’ rather than ‘no,’ to avoid jeopardizing the negotiations.
“Since hostilities seem to be over and the President asked me to give consideration to his negotiating position, I will do so,” Paul said. “My vote of present is a way to give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace.”
Earlier Wednesday, Senate Republicans heard Trump’s defense of the military conflict in Iran. That caused tension with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who later said he had a shouting match with Trump over the lack of transparency between the administration and Congress regarding the campaign in Iran.
The White House quickly invited Cassidy for a briefing with Vice President J.D. Vance and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff about the status of the war. Cassidy later said the briefing was “thorough” and voted against the resolution.
The resolution was originally released from a committee in May with Cassidy’s help, in a surprise move after losing his primary runoff to a Trump-endorsed challenger a few days earlier.
The fact that the measure got this far demonstrates that the appetite in Congress has changed as Republicans reckon with the domestic fallout of the conflict in Iran. The House earlier this week passed a similar rebuke of the war in Iran, which the Senate also approved on a narrow margin.
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