The Senate rejected legislation that would require President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval for military action in Iran.
The 50-40 vote Friday was far short of the 60 needed to adopt the measure. The vote began just after 5 a.m., and was kept open for about 10 hours to allow the six senators running for president to fly back from the Democratic debates in Miami.
Four Republicans -- Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Jerry Moran of Kansas -- joined Democrats in voting for the measure.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky allowed the vote even though it was difficult to schedule.
The legislation would have been included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual spending bill that is one of Congress' few must-pass priorities.
It would have restricted the funds authorized by the act from being used "to conduct hostilities against the government of Iran, against the armed forces of Iran, or in the territory of Iran," unless authorized by Congress.
"Dictators and kings declare war unilaterally, not democracies," Sen. Tom Udall, a New Mexico Democrat and the lead sponsor of the amendment, said on the Senate floor. "The people decide whether we go to war or whether we don't go to war through their elected representatives. Congress is the most direct voice of the people."
Republicans argued that the legislation was potentially dangerous in sending a message to Iran that Congress might undermine the commander in chief in the midst of an escalating conflict.
"The timing couldn't be worse," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Thursday, arguing that the amendment was "just not necessary" given the president's powers to direct the military. "The redundancy is actually damaging. ... It's only going to reinforce this belief among some in the regime that they can go further than they can."
McConnell said putting restrictions on the White House would "hamstring" the president's ability to respond militarily at a time of escalating tension between the U.S. and Iran.
"They have gratuitously chosen to make him the enemy," McConnell said. "Rather than work with the president to deter our actual enemy, they have chosen to make him the enemy."
Trump's approach to the standoff with Iran and his assertion earlier this week that he doesn't need congressional approval to engage militarily has only sparked fresh questions and hardened views in Congress.
Trump tweeted last week that the U.S. came within minutes of striking Iran in response to its shooting down of an unmanned U.S. drone until he told the military to stand down. He said he was concerned over an Iranian casualty count estimated at 150.
"We've been keeping Congress abreast of what we're doing ... and I think it's something they appreciate," Trump told The Hill website. "I do like keeping them abreast, but I don't have to do it legally."
In recent years, the U.S. military has been deployed under old war authorizations passed in 2001 and 2002 for conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some lawmakers have pushed to pass new war powers acts, but none have materialized, though the House last week voted to sunset those authorizations.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other administration officials have suggested that they would be legally justified in taking military action against Iran under the 2001 authorization.
That law gave President George W. Bush authority to retaliate against al-Qaida and the Taliban for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It has subsequently been used to allow military force against extremists elsewhere, from the Philippines to Syria.
House Foreign Relations Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Middle East subcommittee Chairman Ted Deutch, D-Fla., expressed disagreement Friday with a State Department response to their request for the government's legal analysis of Congress' authorizations for use of military force.
"The administration has not, to date, interpreted either [Authorization for Use of Military Force] as authorizing military force against Iran, except as may be necessary to defend U.S. or partner forces engaged in counterterrorism operations or operations to establish a stable, democratic Iraq," wrote Mary Elizabeth Taylor, assistant secretary for legislative affairs, in a letter released by the lawmakers.
Engel and Deutch said that provided a "loophole wide enough to drive a tank through." They added in the statement that "Congress has not authorized the use of force against Iran under any legal theory."
For Udall and other supporters of the measure, there was value in having the debate and putting senators on the record.
"Our troops will be the ones making real sacrifices," Udall said. "We can bear the cost of some inconvenient recess travel. Our job is to debate and vote on matters of war and peace, period, end of story."
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, one of the Democratic co-sponsors of the measure and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the House will now have an opportunity to add the amendment to its negotiations over the National Defense Authorization Act, which are scheduled to begin after the July 4 recess.
"We might be able to get the amendment into the NDAA in conference because of the fact we did get a majority here and we are going to get a strong vote in the House," Kaine told reporters. "My gut tells me that the White House is realizing that this is deeply unpopular with the American public."
Kaine said his pitch to his Republican colleagues was that they "should vote for their own power."
"You should not outsource this congressional responsibility to any president of any party," Kaine said. "You should jealously guard it."
The Senate passed the underlying National Defense Authorization Act on Thursday, but Republicans and Democrats agreed to vote on the amendment throughout the day Friday.
Meanwhile, Beijing on Friday criticized "negative content" about China in the National Defense Authorization Act, saying it would further damage relations already roiled by disputes over trade and technology.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the draft National Defense Authorization Act, if passed, would undermine efforts to mutually overcome obstacles.
"We express firm opposition to the U.S. Senate's approval of the act containing negative content related to China," Geng told reporters at a daily briefing. "Once the act becomes a law, it will damage China-U.S. relations and disrupt bilateral cooperation in some important areas."
The bill blocks transfer of sensitive technology to China and prevents Chinese state companies from receiving U.S. federal funds.
The U.S. accuses Beijing of stealing technology and forcing foreign companies to hand over trade secrets as part of a drive to end America's technological supremacy.
Information for this article was contributed by Daniel Flatley, Travis Tritten and Erik Wasson of Bloomberg News; by Karoun Demirjian, Mike DeBonis and Emily Davies of The Washington Post; and by Lisa Mascaro, Deb Riechmann and staff members of The Associated Press.
A Section on 06/29/2019