Kaine Statement on Senate Vote on His War Powers Resolution on Iran

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement after the Senate failed to advance his war powers resolution to require that any U.S. participation in offensive hostilities against Iran be explicitly authorized by Congress through a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force:

“The Framers of our Constitution gave Congress the power to declare war because they believed that the decision to send our nation’s men and women in uniform into harm’s way was too big for any one person. The Trump Administration’s chaotic strategy on Iran confused the American people and created significant risks for servicemembers and their families. I am disappointed that many of my colleagues are not willing to stand up and say Congress needs to be part of a decision as important as whether or not the U.S. should send our nation’s sons and daughters to fight against Iran. I will continue to do all I can to keep presidents of any party from starting wars without robust public debate by Congress.”

For years, Kaine has been a leading voice in Congress raising concerns over presidents’ efforts to expand the use of military force without congressional authorization. In 2017, Kaine wrote a piece in TIME warning of the consequences if President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal with Iran. In 2018, Kaine wrote a piece in The Atlantic warning that Trump was blundering toward war with Iran. In March 2020, Congress passed Kaine’s bipartisan war powers resolution to prevent further escalation of hostilities with Iran without congressional authorization. In 2023, the Senate passed bipartisan legislation led by Kaine to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) and formally end the Gulf and Iraq wars.

Kaine spoke on the Senate floor prior to the vote. The full speech can be found here.

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