On Thursday, October 22, the Senate voted 49 to 50 on a resolution to rein in the war with Iran. It failed by a single vote. Republicans Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul and Susan Collins voted for it, and Democrat John Fetterman voted against, according to Hoodline.
The war began at the end of February with joint U.S. and Israeli strikes, and the Senate has voted on Iran war powers measures again and again since. In March, a resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia failed 47 to 53. In late June the Senate adopted one, with Republicans Collins, Murkowski, Paul and Bill Cassidy voting yes. On September 24, a House-passed resolution failed by the same 49 to 50 margin, ABC News reported, with Republican Thom Tillis joining the yes votes for the first time.
The law behind the votes
The Constitution splits the power. Article I gives Congress the power to declare war, and Article II makes the president commander in chief. For most of American history that tension was settled by politics, not courts.
After Vietnam, Congress tried to settle it in writing. The War Powers Resolution of 1973, passed over President Nixon's veto, requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of sending forces into hostilities. If Congress does not authorize the fight within 60 days, the forces are supposed to come home, with 30 more days allowed for withdrawal.
Why it almost never works
Presidents of both parties have argued that the 60 day clock does not apply to their operations, or that they can act under their own constitutional authority. And even when a resolution passes, a president can veto it. Overriding a veto takes two thirds of both chambers, a bar far beyond the Senate's 49 to 50 votes.
On Episode 62, recorded in March, Daniel Rosenberg, Michael Dye and Lloyd Golburgh spend a full segment on war powers and congressional authority, then argue the legal case on both sides. They came back to the war on Episode 65 to ask the bigger question, whether it is in America's interest at all, which we cover in a separate story.
What the numbers say now
The war is eight months old. Fighting resumed in October after a pause, including U.S. strikes on Iranian military sites on October 21. Through mid October, the Pentagon reported 21 American service members killed and 865 wounded, and the Congressional Budget Office put direct costs at $38.1 billion through August 1, according to the same Hoodline report.
For the history behind the region's conflicts, start with our piece on why the Middle East has been contested for 5,000 years.
Two Taps News stories summarize reporting and the analysis discussed on Two Taps and Friends. They are not legal advice. Read our standards.
