President Donald Trump reacted angrily late Tuesday to a historic U.S. Senate vote approving a war powers resolution aimed at preventing him from continuing military action against Iran without congressional authorization. Trump called the vote “meaningless” and badly timed, saying it sent the world’s top state sponsor of terror the message that the United States does not like what he is doing.
The measure passed 50 to 48 after four Republican senators joined Democrats, the first time the Senate has approved such a step after nine previous failed attempts. Although the resolution is not legally binding and is mainly symbolic, it amounts to a significant political rebuke of Trump’s foreign policy. Trump singled out the defecting Republicans, calling them “four loser Republicans” and saying, “They have made my work more difficult,” while insisting he would still “finish the job, one way or another.”
Trump also said Iran is “on the ropes, ready to fall and surrender,” claiming the Iranian regime now “respects like crazy” the United States and its president. He described the Senate vote as “aid and relief to the enemy” and said it sends Tehran a negative message at a critical moment.
The vote came amid growing backlash from Republican lawmakers over the war and over the agreement Trump said he had reached with Iran to end it. At the same time, the Pentagon asked Congress for an additional $80 billion to cover war costs and replenish weapons stocks. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer seized on the moment, saying the war in Iran was “one of the gravest foreign policy mistakes in U.S. history.” Later, at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Trump also spoke about rising tension over Middle East shipping lanes and diplomacy with Tehran, saying at least 90 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran will never get nuclear weapons.
