WASHINGTON — In the Senate's last vote on the Iran war before the midterm elections, Republicans largely didn't support ending the conflict, even as it continues to drag down some of the GOP's most vulnerable candidates.
The war powers resolution, which was already approved by the House of Representatives, failed narrowly in a 49-50 vote Sept. 24. Four Republicans — Sens. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska; Thom Tillis, of North Carolina; Rand Paul, of Kentucky; and Susan Collins, of Maine — joined with Democrats to greenlight the measure. It was the first time that Tillis, who's retiring this year, voted to signal his support for ending the war.
The vote completed one of Democrats' last political chess moves in Congress ahead of the fall midterm elections.
Next week, many of them are expected to fan out across the country to campaign, in hopes of capitalizing on the war's unpopularity to try to regain a foothold of power in the Capitol.
The failure of the measure, which wouldn't have gone to President Donald Trump's desk anyway, avoided a potentially embarrassing show of disunity for Republicans at a critical political moment. GOP defections in both the House and Senate already led to the success in June of a similar concurrent resolution, which would've directed Trump to end military action in Iran. The conflict has continued nevertheless, though Trump administration officials have told Congress that hostilities have at times stopped.
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, the political architect of Democrats' strategy to put Republicans on the record over the war, had been hopeful the latest measure would pass. Still, he argued in recent days that even if it failed, it would send a clear message to voters before November.
"He's trying to turn us into a global bully," Kaine said, referring to Trump. "And we're letting him do it."
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican soon to depart Congress after losing his reelection campaign, voted against ending the war. Though he's been vocal in his opposition to the conflict — and signaled his support for ending it in a previous vote — he said earlier this year that private briefings with top Trump administration officials addressed some of his biggest concerns.
With the price of fuel and other goods stubbornly high, many Republicans on the midterm campaign trail have increasingly distanced themselves from the war.
Netanyahu, Trump defend war
As the Senate voted on the war powers resolution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was defending the conflict in a speech at the United Nations. Netanyahu said that the decision to strike Iran was made "not only to protect ourselves, but to save civilization."
During his own speech at the United Nations earlier this week, Trump threatened to "annihilate" Iran if it does not agree to a deal. Following his address, U.S. and Iranian negotiators exchanged messages at the U.N. through intermediaries. The exchange marked the first contact between the two sides in months.
A day later, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the U.N. General Assembly that "the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying."
"We will never bow our head or bend at the knee," Pezeshkian said.
Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. Reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com and on Signal @zachschermele.02. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate Republicans signal support for Iran war despite midterm angst
