U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Votes for War Powers Resolution that Passes Senate with Bipartisan Support

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin voted for a war powers resolution that passed the Senate today with bipartisan support (55-45). The Senate resolution, introduced by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and cosponsored by Baldwin, would force a debate and vote in Congress to prevent further escalation of hostilities with Iran.

“The Constitution is very clear that only Congress has the authority to declare war and I joined Democrats and Republicans to ensure that President Trump comes to Congress first before pursuing any military action against Iran and starting another war in the Middle East,” said Senator Baldwin. “Democrats and Republicans agree. We can’t let the President send more young men and women to war and repeat the mistakes of the past.”

The bipartisan war powers resolution underscores that Congress has the sole power to declare war, as laid out in the Constitution. The resolution requires that any hostilities with Iran must be explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force, but does not prevent the United States from defending itself from imminent attack. The resolution will force a public debate and vote in Congress as intended by the framers of the Constitution to determine whether United States forces should be engaged in these hostilities.

Senator Baldwin has long supported preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and de-escalating tensions with Iran through diplomacy. In 2015, Baldwin supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an historic international agreement with Iran and the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, and Russia, that would have verifiably prevented Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. In 2018, President Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the international agreement and has since continued a policy of escalation with Iran. Last year, Baldwin voted in support of a Senate amendment to the national defense bill to prohibit unconstitutional war with Iran, which was supported by a bipartisan majority of Senators last June.