People keep asking: “Why push a War Powers Resolution if the administration will just veto it?”
This question is especially pointed because a War Powers Resolution on the Iran war is getting closer to being passed – clearing an important procedural hurdle in a 50-47 Senate vote this week.
These votes still matter, politically and geopolitically, even if they don’t pass. Here’s why:
They force the Trump administration to publicly defend an increasingly unpopular war and risk vetoing bipartisan resolutions in full public view. They also lock members of Congress into a recorded position supporting escalation and associated skyrocketing gas prices. This provides more opportunity to hold members of Congress accountable for these recorded votes.
And we’ve seen this dynamic before.
Trump vetoed the Yemen War Powers Resolution in 2019. But just before, his administration effectively moved to cut off support for the Saudi-led war anyway, essentially saying: “You can’t force us to stop because we’re already stopping.”
[War Powers Resolutions] raise the political cost of war, create space for diplomacy, and narrow the room for further escalation.
Those Yemen War Powers efforts didn’t become law, but they helped shift the political landscape. They increased pressure, helped create conditions for the Hodeidah ceasefire, and contributed to the UAE scaling back its role in the war.
These movements matter in ways we don’t always immediately see. They raise the political cost of war, create space for diplomacy, and narrow the room for further escalation.
As far as I can tell, these votes are among the most serious bipartisan rebukes of the Trump 2.0 administration so far.
That matters. And it’s worth continuing the struggle for peace.
