President Trump said the four Republicans who joined Senate Democrats in approving a war powers resolution to end hostilities with Iran have thrown a wrench into the peace negotiations.
The Senate voted 50-48 to adopt the war powers measure on Wednesday, a few weeks after it passed the House. It was structured as a concurrent resolution, which does not go to Mr. Trump for his signature.
While the president dismissed the vote as “meaningless,” he said it has sent the wrong signal to Iran about America’s willingness to resume its bombing campaign if negotiations to permanently end Iran’s nuclear program fall apart.
Mr. Trump said in a social media post that he had Iran “on the ’ropes,’ ready to go down for the fall” — a boxing metaphor — before the “poorly timed and meaningless” Senate war powers vote.
Iran was “willing to give us practically anything,” he said.
The president said the Senate’s approval of the war powers resolution shifted that dynamic.
It tells Iran, the No. 1 sponsor of terror, “that the United States doesn’t like what I am doing to them, and I must stop, and by so doing has provided aid and comfort to the Enemy,” he said.
“Iran asked my people, ’what does that all mean?’” Mr. Trump said. “These Senators have just made my job more difficult, but I will get it done, one way or the other, because I always get it done!”
Concurrent resolutions do not typically carry the force of law but Democrats argue that this one is binding because of authorities that the 1973 War Powers Act gave Congress to prevent or stop armed conflicts that don’t have congressional approval.
New York Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said if the Trump administration tries to resume its military offensive against Iran in spite of the resolution’s directive, the congressman will “explore all legal avenues” to force compliance.
“Congress never authorized this failed war, and the president certainly has no authority to continue it indefinitely without our consent as the Constitution demands,” Mr. Meeks said in a statement.
Senate Foreign Affairs Chairman James E. Risch, Idaho Republican, said the Supreme Court has ruled the concurrent resolution process unconstitutional.
“So whatever happens with this, it’s going to have no effect. The president isn’t going to pay any attention to it,” he said in floor remarks ahead of the vote.
The president called the four Republican senators who voted with Democrats in support of the war powers resolution “losers.”
The four were Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Four Republicans also helped get the measure through the House: Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Warren Davidson of Ohio.
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat in either chamber to vote in opposition.
Democrats would not have had enough support to approve the measure in the Senate if there had been full attendance for the vote.
They took advantage of Kentucky GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell’s absence this week as he recovers from an unspecified medical issue to bring up the House-passed war powers resolution.
Sen. Dave McCormick, Pennsylvania Republican, also missed the vote while traveling with the president to his home state for a factory visit and remarks on the economy.
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