US Senate advances resolution to curb Trump’s power to wage war on Iran

Key points

• Vote to advance War Powers Resolution seen as rare rebuke of the president as pressure grows to end US attacks on Iran.
• The United States Senate has advanced a War Powers Resolution that could prevent President Donald Trump from using military force against Iran without congressional authorisation amid widening fallout from the conflict.
• The vote on a procedural measure to advance the resolution was passed on Tuesday by a margin of 50 to 47, with a handful of Republicans joining Democratic colleagues to pass the measure in a rare rebuke of the president.
• The vote showed that a small but growing number of Republicans are increasingly uneasy with a war that shows no signs of ending, amid a fragile ceasefire, and are willing to challenge the president.
• “This president is like a toddler playing with a loaded gun,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote.