Schumer: Senate must vote on resolution limiting Trump on Iran

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Monday that the chamber will have to vote on a resolution limiting President Trump’s ability to take military action against Iran. 

Schumer, speaking from the Senate floor, noted that Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) had introduced a war powers resolution that would require Trump to withdraw U.S. troops from hostilities against Iran within 30 days without congressional signoff.

“That resolution will be privileged, so it will have to come to the floor,” Schumer said. “My colleagues, we’re going to vote on it.” 

The resolution was introduced last week after Trump sparked a fierce debate on Capitol Hill over his war powers in the wake of an airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was in Iraq. 

The House is set to vote on a similar resolution this week. Kaine can force a vote on the Senate floor 10 days after his resolution was introduced. Both need a simple majority to make it to Trump’s desk, where they would likely face a veto. 

The Senate voted 50-40 in June on a similar measure from Kaine and Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), which needed 60 votes to be added to a mammoth defense bill. GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Mike Lee (Utah), Jerry Moran (Kan.) and Rand Paul (Ky.) voted for it.

In addition to a war powers resolution, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have introduced legislation that would block funding for any offensive military force in or against Iran without prior congressional authorization.

“I am supportive of both Sen. Kaine and Sen. Sanders’s efforts, and I urge the Senate to consider both in the coming days,” Schumer added on Monday.

A quartet of top administration officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, are scheduled to brief the House and Senate on Iran separately on Wednesday. 

Democrats have lashed out at the airstrike, arguing Trump sidestepped getting authorization from Congress and questioning the administration’s claim that it was in response to an immediate threat. Schumer and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) are asking the administration to declassify a notification sent over the weekend to Congress. 

“It is critical that national security matters of such importance, war and peace, the possibility of another, ‘endless war in the Middle East,’ that knowledge of the actions and justification should be shared with the American people in a timely manner. It’s Americans who will be asked to pay for such a war if it occurs,” Schumer said. 

It’s unlikely Congress will successfully check Trump’s war authorities. Two-thirds in both chambers would be needed to overcome a potential veto. 

And most GOP senators have lined up behind the airstrike. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) lashed out at Democrats for criticizing Trump on the issue.

“In this toxic political environment, some of our colleagues rushed to blame our own government before even knowing the facts, rushed to split hairs about intelligence before being briefed on it, and rushed to downplay Soleimani’s evil while presenting our own president as the villain,” McConnell said on Monday.