Senate War-Powers Resolution Stalls

Sen. Tim Kaine, center, speaks about his war powers resolution on Capitol Hill earlier this month. Photo: Michael Reynolds/Shutterstock ...

Sen. Tim Kaine, center, speaks about his war powers resolution on Capitol Hill earlier this month. Photo: Michael Reynolds/Shutterstock

This item first appeared in the Capital Journal newsletter. A bipartisan effort to curb President Trump’s ability to use military force against Iran has fallen by the wayside during the Senate impeachment trial against him. Earlier this month, Senate Democrats earned the support of at least four Republicans on a piece of war powers legislation that would bar the White House from attacking Iran without congressional authorization.

Two weeks of negotiations between Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.), the author of the Senate resolution, and Republicans yielded changes to the resolution that earned the GOP support. With 47 Senate members, Democrats need at least four Republicans to join them to win a majority in the chamber. But that successful lobbying effort has met an obstacle in the impeachment trial, which has consumed all of the Senate’s floor time since it began.

“You have to interrupt the impeachment for some period of time, and they still haven’t figured out whether there will be business in the mornings or whatever,” Mr. Kaine said of trying to pass the resolution. The Trump administration’s killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani earlier this month set off a series of fresh efforts on Capitol Hill to limit the president’s military authority. The Democratic-controlled House will move forward with two additional war-powers efforts when they return from recess next week.

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