On Thursday, the Senate voted 49 to 50 against a resolution directing the president to end U.S. hostilities with Iran unless Congress authorizes them.
asserted
Congress → vote → them
Four Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Thom Tillis (R-NC), voted yes.
asserted
Republicans → vote → ?
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voted no, and another Democrat did not vote.
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Democrat → vote → ?
It was the fourteenth Senate consideration of a war powers measure since American and Israeli bombing began on Feb. 28.
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bombing → begin → Feb.
Whatever a reader thinks of the war, the vote exposes a question that belongs to neither party.
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that → think → party
When a conflict passes six months and an estimated $42 billion, who decides whether it continues?
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it → pass → months
The figures come from Stars and Stripes, which reports a Pentagon cost estimate of $42 billion, at least 19 service members killed, and more than 750 wounded.
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which → come → members
Those are the stakes on which Congress has now voted 14 times without producing a binding result.
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Congress → vote → result
Article I gives Congress the power to declare war and to fund the military.
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Article → give → military
In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution over President Nixon’s veto to make that authority practical.
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authority → pass → veto
It requires notice within 48 hours of introducing forces into hostilities and sets a 60-day limit on unauthorized action, with 30 more days to withdraw safely.
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It → require → days
CBS News reports the administration told Congress in July that military action had “restarted,” which triggered a new 60-day clock.
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which → report → clock
Tillis cited that clock as his reason for voting yes.
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Tillis → cite → reason
That is where the process fails, and it fails regardless of who holds office.
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who → fail → office
Presidents of both parties have read the clock generously.
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Presidents → read → clock
In 2011, the Obama administration argued that limited operations in Libya did not amount to “hostilities” under the statute, and the 60 days passed without authorization.
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days → argue → authorization
In 2019, a Democratic House and a Republican Senate sent President Donald Trump a bipartisan resolution on Yemen, and he vetoed it.
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he → send → it
The override attempt fell short of the two-thirds required.
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attempt → fall → thirds
Whoever occupies the White House prefers flexibility, and whoever sits in the minority prefers limits.
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sits → occupy → limits
The resolution before the Senate was a concurrent resolution, which does not go to the president and, according to the Daily Caller’s account, carries no legal force.
uncertain
which → go → force
The Supreme Court held in 1983, in INS v. Chadha, that Congress cannot exercise binding legislative power without presenting the measure to the president.
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Congress → hold → president
So senators can cast a vote that feels decisive, register their position for the midterms, and leave the outcome unchanged.
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that → cast → outcome
Democrats forced these votes.
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Democrats → force → votes
Some Republicans backed earlier versions, then reversed after meeting with the president, according to CBS.
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Republicans → back → CBS
Neither settles anything.
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Neither → settle → anything
The costs of leaving the question open are concrete.
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costs → leave → question
The conflict continues without the specific authorization the resolution itself demanded.
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resolution → continue → authorization
Allies and adversaries cannot tell whether Congress stands behind the mission.
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Congress → tell → mission
And taxpayers fund a war through emergency channels, not through the deliberate, line-by-line scrutiny the appropriations process was designed to provide.
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process → fund → scrutiny
I have spent more than two decades as a financial controller, and I recognize a control weakness when I see one.
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I → spend → one
An obligation of this size, with no defined end date and no authorizing vote, would not pass an audit in any organization.
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obligation → define → organization
Reasonable people can disagree about the war and still agree about the process.
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people → disagree → process
Congress can correct this without deciding who was right about Iran.
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who → correct → Iran
First, make the 60-day limit self-enforcing.
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limit → make → ?
Congress could provide that no funds may be obligated for hostilities beyond day 60 unless a joint resolution of authorization has been enacted.
uncertain
resolution → provide → authorization
A funding cutoff does not depend on a veto fight, and it uses the power of the purse, which Congress has always held.
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Congress → depend → which
There is precedent: in 1973, Congress ended American combat operations in Southeast Asia by cutting off funds.
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Congress → be → funds
Privileged joint resolutions, with guaranteed floor votes, force the president to sign or veto and force members to defend their position on the record.
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resolutions → guarantee → record
Symbolic concurrent resolutions do neither of those things.
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resolutions → do → things
A number that Congress sees only in news reports cannot be governed.
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Congress → see → reports
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
