Senate Shoots Down Final War Powers Resolution Before Midterm Elections

A war powers resolution narrowly failed to pass the Senate Thursday after only four Republicans voted for its passage.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted with Democrats in favor of the resolution while a growing number of Republicans began breaking with President Donald Trump on the Iran war. It failed in a 49 to 50 vote.

Democratic Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks did not vote. Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Jon Husted of Ohio, who have been critical of the Iran war, voted against the resolution.

The resolution directed Trump to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in Iran, although the president is not obligated to comply with a concurrent resolution since it does not have the force of law.

More Republicans called on the war to end as they face competitive races in Texas, Ohio, Iowa and Kansas, which traditionally are not seen as competitive states for Democrats. Republicans ramped up spending and campaigning in these states to rescue their candidates, including Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his Senate bid against Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico.

A CNN/SSRS poll found 26% of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the Iran war, including 60% of Republicans. Fifty-three percent of Republican or Republican-leaning voters younger than 45 disapproved of his handling of the conflict.

Republican Reps. Ashley Hinson of Iowa, Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin and former Republican Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers called on the war to end despite previous support for the war.

“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran,” Hinson said. “We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices. That includes suspending the gas tax, pausing diesel exports, unleashing E-15 everywhere we can, reinstating the $1/gallon biodiesel tax credit, and creating a diesel relief program to help our farmers and truckers being crushed by the high costs.”

Collins faces a tight re-election race in Maine against Democratic Maine Senate nominee Troy Jackson.

Seven House Republicans voted with Democrats to pass the resolution in a Sept. 16 vote. Those who voted against the resolution were Republican Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Zach Nunn of Iowa and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa.

The upper chamber passed a separate concurrent resolution in June, with Paul, Collins, Lisa Murkowski and voting in favor of the resolution.

Trump raged at Senate Republicans during a lunch in June over the resolution’s passage, with Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy telling the Daily Caller News Foundation that he was “mad as a murder hornet.”