Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / Getty Images
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman broke ranks with his Democratic colleagues on Wednesday (March 4), becoming the only Democrat to vote against a Senate resolution that would have required President Trump to seek congressional approval before taking further military action against Iran.
The resolution, which drew on the War Powers Act of 1973, failed in a 53-47 vote that fell mostly along party lines. The act was originally passed during the Vietnam War to give Congress a legal check on the president's power to send the country into armed conflict. Had the resolution passed, it would have halted further U.S. military strikes on Iran without congressional sign-off.
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was the lone Republican to cross the aisle and vote in favor of the measure. Everyone else voted with their party — except Fetterman.
According to The Intercept, this is not the first time Fetterman has sided with Republicans on war powers. He also voted against a similar resolution aimed at blocking President Trump's attacks on boats in the Caribbean, and against another resolution last summer that sought to impose restrictions following earlier U.S. strikes on Iran.
Fetterman has been an outspoken supporter of the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation in Iran, saying this week he is "baffled" by opposition to what he called "the only action" capable of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
The vote came five days after the United States and Israel launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran.
Democrats argued forcefully on the Senate floor that Congress must reassert its constitutional authority to declare war. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut warned that a sustained air campaign could stretch into a costly, open-ended conflict. "The only way that you will be able to destroy their capacity to make missiles and drones is to be permanently running jets overhead and constantly bombing the new sites that the hard-line regime sets up. That's endless war. That's trillions of dollars," Murphy said.
Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi pushed back, calling the operation "a measured campaign to eliminate the ayatollah's threat." "We're not going to put a time limit on it," Wicker said. "That does not mean it's endless."
Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia criticized President Trump for not appearing before Congress to justify the military action. "Trump is lying to the American people as he launches an illegal, regime-change war against Iran," said Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who serves on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. "This is endangering American lives and has already resulted in mass civilian casualties."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York framed the vote in stark terms before casting his ballot in favor of the resolution. "Do you stand with the American people who are exhausted with forever wars in the Middle East," Schumer asked, "or stand with Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth as they bumble us headfirst into another war?"
House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana dismissed the premise of the war powers debate entirely, telling reporters Wednesday that the conflict does not meet the constitutional threshold requiring a formal declaration of war. "We're not at war right now. We're four days into a very specific, clear mission, Operation Epic Fury," he said.
The vote was widely seen as symbolic, since President Trump has signaled he would veto any such resolution. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that no presidential administration — Republican or Democratic — has ever accepted the War Powers Act as constitutional.
A companion resolution sponsored by Representative Ro Khanna of California and Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky is set for a House vote on Thursday (March 5), though it faces long odds. Representative Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, a staunch supporter of Israel, has introduced competing legislation that would give President Trump 30 days to continue strikes before requiring congressional approval.
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who co-sponsored the Senate resolution, made clear Wednesday that Democrats are not done fighting. "This will be the first effort of all Congress going on the record about this," Kaine said. "But I can assure you it's not going to be the last."