Senate Republicans Block Resolution Against Trump’s Iran War Authority Amid Peace Deal Negotiations

Senate Republicans narrowly blocked a resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump’s authority in conducting war with Iran, amidst emerging peace negotiations. The attempt, led by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., followed Trump’s signing of a memorandum with the Iranian government, potentially leading to an end to hostilities. Details of the deal remain unclear, but Republicans supported the president.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who has been spearheading Democratic efforts on war powers, acknowledged that a peace deal was promising. He suggested the U.S. and Iran might be entering an “intermission” in conflict as the intricacies of a longer-term agreement are finalized.

An intermission is a great time to do what we should have done before this war, which is have the consultation with Congress that the Constitution requires, Kaine stated. He questioned the rationale of resuming hostilities without congressional input.

Warnock’s resolution faced defeat despite earlier progress in the Senate, where select Republicans sided with Democrats to condemn the war. Senators Susan Collins, R-Maine, Bill Cassidy, R-La., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., joined Democrats previously. However, absences aided the GOP in extending time for Trump to negotiate a ceasefire.

Senate Foreign Relations Chair James Risch, R-Idaho, implied that Democratic attempts on war powers could inadvertently favor Iran. He suggested that passing the resolution might cause Iran to withdraw from any peace agreement.

If a miracle happened, a miracle happened, and this passed, got through the Senate, got through the House, and the president signed it — if that miracle happened, do you think Iran would sign the deal that has been negotiated? Of course not, Risch commented.

Meanwhile, Congress remains in the dark about the specifics of the deal. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., expressed frustration over not being briefed, noting it was atypical for leaders to be left uninformed.

Since I’ve been in this job, we haven’t had this issue, so I don’t know the answer to that, Thune remarked, expressing hope for a briefing soon.

Democrats expressed concern that early details favored Iran. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called it essentially a surrender, but argued it was necessary to end the conflict, reduce expenditure, and save lives.

It’s a bad deal, but he’s not gonna get a better deal. So, we just have to accept the humiliation, Murphy concluded.

Alex Miller reports on the U.S. Senate for Fox News Digital.