Republicans narrowly blocked a Democratic war powers resolution that would have prevented President Trump from continuing to wage war in Iran until he won authorization from Congress to do so.
Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized the Trump administration’s moves, taken to stabilize oil markets rocked by the war with Iran, warning that it is benefiting two U.S. adversaries.
G.O.P. lawmakers who have given the Trump administration wide latitude to wage war with no congressional input are growing frustrated as officials offer little detail about ground troops, cost or timeline.
For the second time since the war began, Senate Democrats tried and failed to win passage of a resolution that would have halted the offensive until President Trump went to Congress for approval.
A day earlier, the secretary of state had said that the decision to attack Iran was based on knowledge that Israel was going to strike, and an assumption that Iran would target U.S. forces as a result.
The administration’s shifting justifications for the military operation alarmed Democrats, who said no clear rationale had been given. Republicans struggled to echo the evolving explanations.
Senate Democrats traveled to Kyiv and Odessa to show solidarity with the war-torn nation and make the case that the United States should do more, including imposing harsh sanctions on Russia.
While the party remains split as President Trump presses to “take” Greenland, some in his party are publicly embracing his reasoning for wanting to control the territory.
