Republicans Now Fully Own Trump's Iran War

"But what the Senate vote did establish is that Trump can conduct his war on Iran without interference from Congress indefinitely - or more specifically, until the Pentagon runs out of money to prosecute it. And once again, his party is fine with giving this supposedly peacemaking president a blank check, even though he's done a wretched job of providing any coherent rationale for going to war, any consistent set of war aims, or any clear timetable for winding it all down."

"During closed-door meetings on Capitol Hill ... senior intelligence and defense officials described a vast military operation that many members anticipate will require extra funding on top of the nearly $1 trillion Congress has already given the military over the last year. 'I think there will be a supplemental coming,' Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters upon leaving his classified Senate briefing. 'We'll have to approve that.'"

The U.S. Senate rejected Tim Kaine's War Powers Act resolution that would have required Donald Trump to cease attacks on Iran within 30 days without congressional authorization. The largely party-line vote demonstrated that Trump can conduct military operations against Iran without congressional interference until Pentagon funding is exhausted. Republicans provided no coherent rationale for the war, consistent war aims, or clear timeline for conclusion. Congress has already allocated nearly $1 trillion to the military, with discussions underway for supplemental funding if current resources deplete. The Senate's action effectively grants Trump a blank check for military operations, with the legislative branch abdicating its constitutional authority to declare war.

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