The Senate Friday defeated a measure that would prohibit President Trump from using military action against Iran without approval from Congress.
The provision, authored by Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Tim Kaine of Virginia, garnered the support of a few Republicans. The vote, which began at 5 a.m. Friday, is expected to last for hours.
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Mitch McConnell agreed to leave it open for the day in order to accommodate the Senate Democrats running for president who are returning from the candidate debates in Miami.
Cory Booker who participated in the Wednesday Democratic presidential debate, was among the first to return, casting a “yes” vote in favor of the amendment early Friday morning.
While the measure will likely be defeated, it underscores a growing unease among lawmakers with U.S. military action abroad.
Congress last authorized a war in 2001, when America attacked Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and many lawmakers believe subsequent military action beyond it should require their vote.
The Democrat-majority House earlier this month voted to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.
Udall’s provision has the backing of Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah.
The Senate measure was introduced after Trump abruptly abandoned plans to retaliate against Iran for shooting down an American drone in international airspace.
Trump later threatened Iran with “obliteration” if he attacked any American interest in the region.
Udall argued that Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran and impose new sanctions has pushed the United States toward a war.
“Since this administration turned away from diplomacy and resorted to the maximum pressure campaign to box in Iran, the risk of war has steadily risen,” Udall said prior to the vote. “Just last week, we were 10 minutes away from a strike on Iran. Ten minutes from a nightmare of escalation in the Gulf,” said Udall.”
Trump said he believes retaliatory actions against Iran do not require congressional approval and most Republicans agree.
McConnell made the case that the president is not edging toward a war with Iran but exercising his authority as commander in chief.
“The Udall amendment would represent a huge departure from the basic flexibility that presidents of both parties have always had to take immediate military steps, short of full-scale war, to respond to immediate crises,” the Senate majority leader said.
Sen. Marco Rubio said the measure could embolden Iran to step up aggression in the region.
“All this amendment does is create a dangerous opportunity to be misread, to cause Iran to do something and that will trigger a response, and then we will have a war,” the Florida Republican said.
If adopted, the measure would be retroactively added to the 2020 defense spending authorization measure that passed on Thursday.
