The U.S. Senate rejected an amendment on Friday that would have restricted U.S. President Donald Trump’s ability to go to war against Iran.
The tally of the measure, introduced by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.), was 50-40, falling short of the 60 votes required to get it added to the $750 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which the upper chamber passed on Thursday, though agreed to vote on the amendment by the two senators the following day.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called out what he deemed to be hypocritical on the part of the Democrats.
“None of our Democratic friends would be supporting this if there was a Democratic president,” he said. “This is clearly within the bounds of measured response that have not been micromanaged by Congress in the past.”
The Senate NDAA includes the continuation of American assistance to Israel for missile-defense programs and at the same time blocks the transfer of F-35 jets to Turkey.
The House plans to vote on its own NDAA in July, and the two versions must be reconciled.
