On Thursday, the Senate failed in its bid to stop President Donald Trump from engaging in further military action against Iran without congressional authorization, CNN reports.
The vote failed 49-44, below the two-thirds majority needed to overcome a presidential veto, President Donald Trump vetoed the resolution on Wednesday.
Seven GOP senators joined with Democrats leading Trump to call the bipartisan measure “insulting” and argued that it was part of a ploy by Democrats to divide Republicans and oust him from office in November.
“The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands,” he said. “Contrary to the resolution, the United States is not engaged in the use of force against Iran.”
This was Trump’s seventh veto of his presidency.
When the resolution passed the Senate in February, eight Republicans voted in favor of it even as the President voiced opposition. In March, the resolution passed the House, where a handful of Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the resolution, according to CNN.
The resolution was introduced by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and was co-sponsored by several Republican senators.
The seven Republicans who broke with Trump were Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Todd Young of Indiana and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, spoke out against the War Powers Resolution saying this is no time to take pressure off the Iranian regime, which, he argued, is using its “scant resources to export violence” around the region and the world.
Senator James Inhofe, R-Okla., praised Trump’s “boldest” defense policy decision yet to strike the “monster” of Soleimani and said that Trump has shown in the months since he wasn’t on a march to go to war with Iran.
“I think this has been twisted around in a way to make the president look bad,” Inhofe said. “In his heart, he knew what he was doing at the time.”
Trump argued the measure was “based on misunderstandings of facts and law” in a statement.
“This indefinite prohibition is unnecessary and dangerous,” the White House said in a separate message to the Senate on Wednesday.