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The Senate narrowly rejected a war powers resolution on Thursday, September 24, to end all military action in Iran. Four Republicans crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats for the resolution. An equal number of GOP representatives in the House did the same in July, and seven did as well on another war powers resolution earlier this month. Despite both passing the House, this first, at least, died in the Senate – but it was close.
From Iran to Congress: Trump Fights on Two Fronts
The resolution almost squeaked by in the Senate on Thursday, coming in at 49-50. Three of the four who defected, if you will, were the usual suspects: Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Rand Paul (R-KY) – though Thom Tillis (R-NC) seems to be starting to make a habit of breaking with Trump as well since he announced his plans to retire.
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Now, those four specifically have a history of opposing President Trump’s policies and legislative agendas. But an even greater number of Republicans crossed the aisle in the House vote earlier this month. Seven sided with Democrats, and another eight didn’t vote at all. That’s 15 Republicans in the House who didn’t support Trump’s war and four in the Senate.
Further illustrating the divide, one of those who voted against Trump in the House – Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) – introduced articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for continuing operations in Iran. Again, like the four senators, Massie is a longtime thorn in Trump’s side, but for a Cabinet member to face an impeachment effort launched by his own party is a rare level of escalation. Of course, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) dealt with the articles of impeachment by adjourning the House early for the midterm break. That, however, only kicks the can down the road past the election, because it’ll have to be dealt with once they return.
The Court of Public Opinion
Midterm elections are a concern, naturally. The fighting was supposed to be over quickly; instead, it’s gone on more than half a year with no end in sight. Fuel prices are elevated – higher than they’ve been since the Biden-era highs. Arguing publicly over war powers resolutions and articles of impeachment may not be good for the GOP midterm efforts, but neither is the pain at the pump that seemingly can be tied directly to the Trump administration’s operations in Iran.
YouGov reported on September 22 that about half of Americans think the war in Iran will last at least another year, according to their latest poll. Slightly more said that, in hindsight, going to war in Iran was the wrong decision.
A CNN and SSRS poll released on the same day showed that almost two-thirds think the US is not winning the war. Three-quarters also said Trump doesn’t have a clear plan for handling the war, and nearly the same percentage said he isn’t doing enough to end it.
President Trump isn’t worried about the election. “The Republican Party is running, and I’ll be helping them, but I am not running,” he told reporters earlier this week. “I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran. It doesn’t even enter my mind. The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”
It may not have entered his mind, but the same clearly is not true for at least some of his Republican colleagues in Congress. And the same may go for many of the voters who elected him twice.
