Washington, DC – The Senate failed to override yesterday’s presidential veto of the Iran War Powers Resolution (S.J. Res. 68). While 49 senators voted to override the presidential veto, they failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed.
Contact:
Tim McHugh,
media@fcnl.org;
202-903-2515
The resolution passed the Senate 55-45 in mid-February, followed by a 227-186 March vote in the House.
“War is never the answer. Despite a disappointing outcome today, our work to reassert Congress’s war powers and prevent unauthorized war with Iran is far from over,” said FCNL General Secretary Diane Randall. “We will continue working with our allies throughout the country to push Congress in fulfilling its constitutional responsibility to take unauthorized wars completely off the table.”
The Iran War Powers Resolution sent a decisive message from Congress that war with Iran has not been authorized and is, therefore, unconstitutional. The historic passage of this measure also helped deescalate regional tensions by showing a majority of Americans and members of Congress want a more restrained approach to Iran.
“At a time when we need to address so many issues here at home, including the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s absolutely critical for Congress and the American people not to let President Trump waste billions of dollars and untold human lives on a war of his own choice,” said Hassan El-Tayyab, FCNL’s Middle East policy legislative manager. “The last thing the world needs now is another endless Middle Eastern war.”
Despite lacking the votes to override President Trump’s veto, every Democratic senator and eight Republicans voted to prevent unauthorized war with Iran. This was only the second time in history that a resolution to terminate U.S. engagement in hostilities passed both chambers of Congress and made it to the president’s desk.
To learn more, please visit www.fcnl.org.
