US SENATE VOTES TO CLIP TRUMP’S IRAN WAR POWERS

WASHINGTON—THE US Senate passed legislation on Thursday to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran, rebuking him weeks after a strike against an Iranian military commander and Tehran’s retaliation raised fears of broader regional conflict.

Eight of Trump’s fellow Republicans joined Democrats to pass the war powers resolution by 55-45. The measure would require Trump to remove US troops engaged in hostilities against Iran unless Congress declares war or passes a specific authorization for the use of military force.

Trump has promised a veto, and there is not expected to be enough support to muster the two-thirds Senate supermajority to override. Fifty-three of the 100 senators are Republicans, who rarely break with the president.

Senators voted nearly along party lines a week ago to acquit Trump of impeachment charges, after an investigation and trial that underscored Washington’s bitter partisan divides.

Opponents said the resolution’s passage sent the wrong message.

“We need to send a message of firmness, and not weakness,” said Senator Jim Risch, the Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, author of the resolution, said the vote showed strength and reflected the importance of Congress weighing in on any decision to deploy troops.

Even without an override, Kaine said the resolution’s backers hoped it would influence Trump when it came to future military action, adding that the president cared about what the public thinks, if not the Senate.