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Senate blocks bid to curb Trump’s Iran war powers
The 49-50 vote comes as diesel prices top $6.50 and voters voice economic concerns
A driver refuels a vehicle at a gas station in San Jose, Calif. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)
Key Takeaways:
- The Senate rejected a Democratic resolution to end the Iran war in a 49-50 vote Sept. 24.
- Republican divisions widened as retail diesel exceeded $6.50 a gallon, increasing pressure on farmers, truckers and vulnerable lawmakers.
- Endangered Republicans face voters in less than six weeks as some publicly break with President Donald Trump over the war.
The Republican-controlled Senate on Sept. 24 defeated a Democratic resolution to end the war in Iran even as endangered GOP senators have begun to publicly break with President Donald Trump amid the economic fallout from the widely unpopular conflict.
The Senate rejected the measure in a 49-50 vote. Though largely symbolic, the vote was viewed as an opportunity for vulnerable Republicans to distance themselves from the war ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Sens. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and most other Republican senators facing voters in the fall opposed the resolution, which previously passed the House narrowly. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who lost his primary bid for reelection, also voted against it. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, who previously joined efforts to end the war, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted for it, along with retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
Several Republicans said they would like to see the war end quickly but aren’t yet willing to vote to rein in Trump’s power to wage it.
Voters are anxious about the conflict driving up gasoline, diesel, food and other prices, and endangered GOP lawmakers increasingly fear a backlash in the election less than six weeks away.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has supported the war, was the only Democrat to break with his party and oppose the resolution.
The vote came after the House passed a similar measure earlier in September, one of the lower chamber’s last votes before its members left for an extended break through the Nov. 3 election. Two vulnerable House Republicans from Iowa, Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, broke ranks and voted for the first time to end the war, another sign of crumbling GOP support.
U.S. retail diesel prices have climbed above $6.50 a gallon for the first time, hammering farmers across the Grain Belt as they prepare for harvest and truckers across the country.
