Trump vetoes Iran war powers resolution

Trump vetoes Iran war powers resolution

On Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed the Iran war powers resolution, which would have limited the president's ability to wage war against Iran as he wages a campaign of maximum pressure against the country.

Gloria Tso reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (May 6) vetoed a resolution that would have limited his war powers when it came to Iran.

It was the latest effort by Congress to wrestle back from the White House its constitutionally-guaranteed authority to declare military action as Trump wages a campaign of maximum pressure against Iran.

It had passed through both the House and Senate and had support from Democrats and some Republicans.

In a statement released by the White House, Trump called it a quote "insulting resolution," accusing Democrats of using it to divide Republicans and try to win back the White House in November.

And he added that quote "the few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands." The resolution would've required Trump to remove U.S. troops engaged in hostilities against Iran unless Congress declared war or specifically authorized the use of military force.

The measure sought to rebuke Trump after he authorized a strike which killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and later sparked retaliation from Iran, stoking fears of broader regional conflict.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who first introduced the bill, tweeted shortly after Trump's veto urging his colleagues to join him in voting to override it, saying quote "Congress must vote before sending our troops into harm's way." Trump's fellow Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, which is expected to hold a veto-override vote as early as Thursday (May 7).

While a handful of Republicans in both houses of Congress supported the measure when it passed, they're not enough to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.