Senator Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) latest attempt to restrict President Donald Trump’s authority to conduct military operations has been struck down in the Senate.
The failed effort deals another blow to Democrats trying to rein in the White House’s response to Iranian aggression.
Kaine’s war powers resolution failed largely along party lines.
Had it passed, it would have required congressional debate and approval before the president could authorize military strikes like the ones launched against Iran last weekend.
The only notable exceptions were Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a longtime skeptic of unchecked executive war powers, and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).
Fetterman broke ranks with his party to back Trump’s decisive action.
Kaine, a Virginia Democrat and 2016 vice presidential nominee, insisted that the resolution was not a reaction to Trump specifically.
He claims its rather a broader call to restore Congress’s constitutional role in matters of war.
Yet the timing was anything but neutral.
His resolution came just days after Operation Midnight Hammer, a joint U.S.-Israeli campaign.
The operation crippled Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
It successfully concluded with a Trump-brokered ceasefire.
Many Republicans saw the resolution as a political jab aimed at undermining the president’s victory.
Speaking from the Senate floor, Kaine