Senate GOP to defeat proposal requiring approval for Iran attack

Senate Republicans are confident they have the votes to defeat a bipartisan amendment that would require congressional approval for any military action President Trump takes against Iran.

The amendment, which Democrats want to attach to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, would require 60 votes to pass.

That means at least 13 Republicans would have to join all 47 Democrats — including two independents who caucus with Democrats — to pass the amendment.

{mosads}“To keep it from passing, it only takes 41 [votes],” said Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.), who confirmed the amendment would need 60 votes to succeed.

“We’ve talked to a lot of folks,” he said.

Thune noted that a handful of Republicans, such as Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Mike Lee (Utah), support requiring the president to get approval from Congress for any attacks against Iran. But he said they are a minority of the Senate GOP conference.

“I think most of our conference is in a different place and doesn’t want in an unprecedented way put constraints on the president’s ability to defend the country,” Thune said. 

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), also predicted Wednesday the amendment would fail. 

“I do not believe it will pass and I do believe that it’s unconstitutional if it did,” he said.

Cornyn argued the amendment “would impair our ability to respond to further attacks by Tehran and in a way that would make them think that we were weak or irresolute in responding to their aggression.”

The amendment states no funds may be used to conduct hostilities against the government of Iran or its armed forces without a joint resolution of Congress specifically authorizing such hostilities.

Democrats have threatened to block the defense authorization bill unless allowed a vote on the Iran amendment, whose main sponsors are Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

McConnell said Tuesday that he’s open to having a vote on the proposal but argued that it’s unnecessary.

“Nobody is advocating going to war with Iran. Not the president, not the secretary of State, none of the generals. No one,” he said.