Third Republican Senator Endorses War Powers Resolution, Leaving Dems Just Shy of Majority
Senator Todd Young (R., Ind.) announced on Tuesday that he would support a resolution to curb President Trump’s power to make war on Iran without Congressional authorization.
Young is the third Republican Senator to support the resolution, which was authored by Senator Tim Kaine (D., Va.). Democrats will need four Republicans to vote for the resolution in order to gain the majority required to pass it.
Kaine tweaked the original resolution to make it more palatable for Republicans, eliminating a section that Republicans and some Democrats deemed too critical of President Trump.
“I will be supporting, shall we call it, Kaine 2.0., the newer Kaine language, should I have an opportunity to vote on it,” Young said in comments reported by The Hill.
Senators Rand Paul (R., Ky.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah) have both previously expressed support for the War Powers resolution. Paul and Lee confirmed their support after a classified briefing on the U.S. airstrike that killed senior Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
“It is not acceptable for officials within the executive branch of government…to come in and tell us that we can’t debate and discuss the appropriateness of military intervention against Iran,” Lee fumed to reporters after the briefing. “It’s un-American. It’s unconstitutional. And it’s wrong. And I hope and expect that they will show more deference to their limited power in the future.”
The House on Thursday passed a separate War Powers resolution sponsored by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.). The vote fell mostly along party lines, although Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.), a staunch Trump ally, raised eyebrows by urging fellow Republicans to vote in favor of the resolution.
