President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States and Iran had agreed to a two-week ceasefire, and he said he had agreed to suspend planned bombing for two weeks if Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That set off a new round of political fights in Washington, where Democrats are moving to force votes on war powers resolutions as soon as lawmakers return.
Senate Democrats will force a vote on an Iran war powers resolution when they return from recess next week, Chuck Schumer said Wednesday. The measure would call on the president to terminate the use of U.S. armed forces in hostilities against Iran or any part of the Iranian government or military unless Congress passes a declaration of war or an authorization to use military force.
The fight is also likely to reach the House this week. Hakeem Jeffries said Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey and other Democrats in Washington are expected to try to force an Iran war powers resolution vote during Thursday's pro forma session, though he said Republicans are expected to block it. Jeffries said the short pause announced by Trump is not enough, adding, “A two-week ceasefire is woefully insufficient. Accordingly, we have demanded that the House come back into session immediately in order to vote on our resolution to permanently end the war in the Middle East.”
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Schumer framed the Senate effort as a direct challenge to Republicans, saying, “Republicans will once again have the opportunity to join Democrats and end this reckless war of choice. The public must demand that Republicans join with us to approve a war powers act.”
The renewed pressure follows several failed attempts by both the House and Senate to advance war powers resolutions, and it comes after Trump’s Tuesday comments drew swift alarm from Democrats. On that day, Chris Murphy said Trump had lost touch with reality and warned that the president had promised to commit war crimes and to eradicate an entire civilization. Murphy said, “The president has promised to commit war crimes. He's promised to eradicate an entire civilization we have never ever seen that in the history of this country. That's why I and many other people have been talking for the last 24 hours about the 25th amendment.” He added, “We just can't accept a president who is literally promising to destroy an entire civilization, to murder hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings. That alone should be grounds for the removal of this President.”
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The political split is not clean inside the Democratic ranks, either. Henry Cuellar said Tuesday that he would support the House’s war powers resolution when it comes up for a vote, a reversal from last month, when he was one of four Democrats who voted against it. Cuellar described the measure as “a reaffirmation of Congress' constitutional role and our shared responsibility to the American people.”
Republicans are expected to block the House effort, but the issue is not going away. Last week, Republican Sen. John Curtis said he would not support military operations in Iran beyond the 60-day window without congressional approval, a sign that even some Republicans want a clearer legal line around any continued U.S. action. For now, the practical answer to the question that Trump’s ceasefire announcement created is a legislative one: Democrats are forcing the war powers issue back onto the floor, and both chambers are headed toward another test of how much authority Congress is willing to reclaim.
