ISLAMABAD: The US Congress is set to vote this week on a resolution seeking to curb President Donald Trump’s authority to conduct military operations against Iran without explicit legislative approval, lawmakers and aides said on Tuesday.
The measure, introduced by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, would direct the president to terminate the use of US armed forces in hostilities against Iran unless authorized by Congress or in response to an imminent threat, according to the text of the resolution and a statement from Kaine’s office.
“We should not be going into a war in the Middle East or anywhere without good, solid reason that has had its tires kicked and that has demonstrated that is of a magnitude sufficient to warrant losses that could reach this scale,” Kaine said.
“This President has asserted no real reason that is clear to the American public, and that’s why the American public so far is so against this.”
The votes are expected midweek in both chambers and would invoke the 1973 War Powers Resolution — a law passed during the Vietnam War to check a president's unilateral power to commit the country to armed conflict.
In the Senate, the bipartisan resolution is led by Kaine and Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. According to TIME magazine, the president would require explicit congressional authorization to engage in further hostilities against Iran.
The US Senate is expected to take up the measure first, Senate aides said, with a parallel resolution likely to be introduced in the US House of Representatives later in the week, according to House Democratic leadership staff.
Several Republicans, however, defended Trump’s actions as falling within his authority as commander-in-chief, according to floor speeches and party statements.
“I pray so hard for my colleagues to exercise the judgment that this is not the right time for more war,” Kaine concluded. “I pray that my colleagues will support the War Powers Resolution.”
The vote is expected on Wednesday, with the House likely to consider the measure later this week, congressional aides said.
