Senate rebukes Trump in largely symbolic war powers vote

The upper chamber passed a war powers resolution on Tuesday aimed at blocking President Donald Trump from using the U.S. military against Iran. The 50-48 vote marked the first time the Senate successfully passed a war powers resolution since the start of the war with Iran. It followed nine previous failed attempts by the Senate to pass such a resolution. The latest vote came after the House of Representatives passed a similar resolution earlier this month.

It’s the first time this resolution, which doesn’t require the president's signature, has passed in both chambers, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Congress, the only branch of government with the power to declare war, stood up to Trump’s expensive and unnecessary war, he added. The Trump administration must now withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities in Iran, Schumer said.

How partisan was the vote? Republicans lacked a full majority in the chamber due to the absence of Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. and Dave McCormick, R-Pa. A total of 47 Republicans voted against the measure, alongside lone Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana supported the resolution.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Black’s report explaining why Sen. Mitch McConnell wasn’t there to vote on Tuesday.