Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy immediately fired back at party leaders after losing the primary. Three other Republicans also left the party.
Pete Hegseth says he has ‘plans’ to escalate Iran war if necessary
The Pentagon has increased its estimate of Iran’s war costs from $25 billion to $29 billion.
WASHINGTON – In a political blow to President Donald Trump, the Senate on May 19 advanced for the first time a measure to end the Iran war.
The war powers resolution passed 50-47, with several leading Republican senators not voting and another leading Republican defecting from the party.
Although the vote was largely procedural and faces an uphill battle before it actually becomes law, the resolution’s progress bodes poorly for the White House about the possibility of declining support for the war in Congress. As November’s midterm elections approach, rising gas prices, surging inflation and weak presidential voting numbers are becoming political responsibilities for Republicans in battleground states.
At the same time, the congressional rebuke was a clear sign of how simmering tensions between the White House and Senate Republicans are boiling over as President Trump seeks to oust longtime Republican senators.
Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who just days ago lost reelection in the primary largely due to his opposition to President Trump, voted to advance the War Powers Resolution. Before losing reelection, Cassidy had repeatedly opposed the bill, which would have prevented further U.S. military attacks.
Retired North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who Trump has repeatedly attacked publicly, did not vote at all. So did Sen. John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, whom the president abruptly refused to endorse on Tuesday. (Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville also did not vote.)
Meanwhile, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) voted Democratic.
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who has been leading Democratic legislative efforts to end the Iran war, said ahead of the vote that the Trump administration’s 60-day deadline by which a president could legally conduct military hostilities overseas without Congressional approval is long past.
“The regime is reluctant to show us the legal basis for the war,” he said. “That should be a flashing red light.”
In a May 1 letter to members of Congress, President Trump sought to argue that hostilities against Iran had already “ended” and that a formal declaration of war from Congress was unnecessary. But at a May 13 Senate hearing, Murkowski told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that she and others could not accept that rationale.
“What’s confusing is that even though the president says hostilities have ended, we still have 15,000 troops forward deployed, more than 20 warships, and an active naval blockade,” she said. In other words, it seems that the rivalry is not over yet.
The last time such a vote was successful was after U.S. troops invaded Venezuela and five Republicans voted against Trump. The president then posted negative comments about them on social media, and several people canceled their votes a few days later.
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
