Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia claims there is majority support in the Senate to reign in President Trump’s war powers following Iran’s attack last week on Iraqi air bases housing American soldiers.
“I’ve got 51 declared votes on version two,” Kaine, 61, said on Tuesday while talking with reporters. Kaine revised the resolution after failing to secure the support of Republican Indiana Sen. Todd Young, 47, who signed on to the second version.
Young said earlier he was “working with Sen. Kaine to revise his resolution away from delivering a politically charged message to instead focus on the important substance that this issue demands.”
Kaine’s measure would require Trump to cease military action against Iran after 30 days unless he receives new authorization from Congress. While the measure could pass the Senate with a simple majority, it lacks the supermajority of 67 votes to override a presidential veto and will never become law.
Other Republicans who have voiced their support include Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Utah Sen. Mike Lee, both of whom have expressed frustration with the Trump administration for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Last week, Lee, 48, blasted a military briefing that was intended to outline the reasons why the Trump administration decided to kill Soleimani in a drone strike while he was in Iraq. Lee said it was “probably the worst briefing” he’d seen during his nine years in the Senate. Paul, 57, called the same briefing “less than satisfying” and “insulting.”
Kaine also told reporters that, in addition to Young, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, 67, has joined the Democratic coalition to curb Trump’s military authority in Iran. “It’s important that Congress at this time affirm our Article 1 responsibilities, so long as we don’t undermine the president’s Article 2 responsibilities, that’s all the Kaine resolution says,” Young said, according to Politico.
The vote on the Senate resolution is expected to coincide with the impeachment trial of Trump next week.
