President Donald Trump’s primary endorsement of a sitting senator’s challenger appears to have been enough to break the Republican wall blocking Democrats from moving forward with a measure to curb the president’s conflict in Iran.
The Senate voted Tuesday evening to move forward with a resolution to limit Trump’s war powers in Iran. Democrats had failed on seven prior attempts.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., backed the measure. Cassidy recently lost his Republican primary race to Rep. Julia Letlow, whom Trump endorsed. The vote marks the first time Cassidy has backed Democrats in their push to limit Trump’s war efforts.
Notably, Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and John Cornyn of Texas did not vote. The vote came hours after Trump endorsed Cornyn’s opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in the race for Cornyn’s seat. Their abstentions allowed Democrats and the handful of defecting Republicans to advance the resolution.
Sponsored by Sen. Tim Caine, D-Va., the measure requires the president to stop all military activity toward Iran unless otherwise directed by Congress.
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The resolution still has a long road to travel before it can formally block Trump from further military action in Iran. Even if enough Republicans in the House of Representatives defect and pass it, Trump still carries veto power. It would then be up to Democrats to carve off more Republican lawmakers to amass a veto override.
While the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the authority to declare war, presidents can conduct military operations against other countries or entities and later notify lawmakers of those actions.
Trump on Monday said he would postpone a new military strike on Iran at the request of Persian Gulf leaders to resume talks.
Leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates urged him to pause and resume talks. U.S. and Iranian leaders remain at loggerheads over the regime’s nuclear weapons program.
