Congress gears up for vote on Trump’s war powers in Iran : NPR

Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, seen here in January, is one of the Democrats pushing for a vote on a war powers resolution after the United States and Israel attacked Iran.

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Congress is set to vote this week on bipartisan war powers resolutions intended to limit President Trump’s military operations in Iran.

The joint effort by the House and Senate faces uphill battles to become law, with previous efforts failing to assert Congress’ authority to declare war.

But most Democrats and a handful of Republicans on Capitol Hill still support efforts to curb Trump’s use of military power in Iran, after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran over the weekend that already caused the first American casualties.

“The Constitution says we’re not supposed to be at war without a vote of Congress,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., co-sponsor of the Senate resolution, told NPR. Weekend Edition. “This is important. The lives of our troops are in danger. We must return to Washington immediately and vote on this.”

The war powers resolutions were to be debated and voted on before the surprise attack on Iran’s military and political leaders. Now that the war continues, it is unclear how or if a successful resolution by the war powers would immediately change the reality on the ground.

Kaine urged Congress to return sooner than expected to vote on the resolutions, but votes on the measures are still expected midweek.

Congress will likely have to override Trump’s veto in order to pass the war power measures. As it stands, it’s unclear whether there is enough support for initial passage, let alone the two-thirds majority needed in both chambers to override a veto.

If passed, these measures would block further U.S. military action in Iran without congressional approval under the War Powers Resolution of 1973 – which Congress passed during the Vietnam War to check executive branch war authority.

Sen. Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, a pilot and Navy captain, also supports the vote, saying “Trump has no plan to avoid escalation into a broader conflict that would put more service members at risk.”

Trump, in a video posted online Sunday, said the United States would continue its attacks in the Middle East until its objectives are achieved, without specifying what those objectives are.

Administration officials, including the CIA director, secretary of defense and secretary of state, are expected to brief all lawmakers on Tuesday about war efforts in the Middle East, the White House said.

“A disastrous vote for any Democrat”

Rep. Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, said he gives the House war powers resolution a 40 to 60 percent chance of passing the House this week.

“It depends on whether we can keep multiple Democrats in line,” Khanna told NBC News. Meet the press. “But I think it’s a disastrous vote for any Democrat: to vote for Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East.”

He specifically cited Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., who has long opposed Iran’s war powers’ resolutions, fearing they would “restrict necessary flexibility” for military operations. Gottheimer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his vote.

Most Republicans are expected to support Trump’s war on Iran and block the resolutions.

“I suspect you will see overwhelming support from elected Republicans in Congress,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday morning on CNN.

But Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., one of the House sponsors of the resolution, argued that the conflict is not “America First,” suggesting some fissures within the GOP; Massie has consistently been one of the few Republicans to vote against some of the Trump administration’s priorities.

In the Senate, Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, is one of the few Democrats who has declared his intention to vote against the resolution.

“It’s not necessary. Honestly, though, it’s all really an empty gesture,” Fetterman told Fox News on Sunday.

This resolution vote comes after the failure of a a number of similar attempts to restrict Trump’s use of the military without congressional approval.

In June, a Senate vote on Iran’s war powers failed after strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities. And in January, although the Senate narrowly advanced a resolution on war powers in Venezuela following the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro, the attempt ultimately failed.

— NPR’s Michele Kelemen contributed to this report.