Collins breaks with GOP leaders on Iran war powers resolution
Centrist Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Thursday broke ranks with Republican leaders and most GOP colleagues by voting for a war powers resolution sponsored by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to halt military actions against Iran, the first Republican senator to change her position on curtailing President Trump’s military authority.
Collins joined Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in voting to advance a resolution to withdraw U.S. military forces from the conflict with Iran unless Congress votes to authorize the use of force.
She and Paul voted with most Democrats for a motion to discharge the resolution from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but it still failed by a vote of 47 to 50.
It marked the sixth time that Senate Republicans have defeated a resolution under the 1973 War Powers Act to halt further military operations against Iran.
Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) was the only Democrat to vote against discharging the resolution from committee.
Collins said before the vote that she planned to vote against authorizing the strikes against Iran beyond the 60-day window set by the War Powers Act.
“The 60-day trigger is a very important one. At that point, Congress has to authorize the military action to continue. There’s a 30-day period where you could wind it down. And I will not support extending the hostilities beyond that 60 days except for wind-down activities,” she told The Hill this week.
The Maine Republican said it’s “up to” leaders whether to bring to the floor a resolution to authorize the war or a measure to block Trump’s war authority, something that the president could veto.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth argued before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that the 60-day clock on the Iran war was paused when Trump announced a ceasefire earlier this month.
“We are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire,” Hegseth told Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) during the hearing.
“I do not believe the statute would support that,” Kaine pushed back. “I think the 60 days runs maybe tomorrow, and it’s going to pose a really important legal question for the administration there.”
Collins said after the vote that she would not support continued strikes against Iran until the Trump administration lays out “achievable goals” and a “defined strategy” for ending the conflict.
“Our military has performed magnificently and with great courage and sacrifice in diminishing the threat that Iran poses to our country, our allies, the broader Middle East, and the world,” she said in a statement.
“Further military action against Iran must have a clear mission, achievable goals, and a defined strategy for bringing the conflict to a close. I voted to end the continuation of these military hostilities at this time until such a case is made,” she said.
The 60-day period set by the War Powers Act limiting the president’s power to conduct military actions without congressional authorization expires Friday.
The clock started on March 2 when Trump notified Congress pursuant to the law of the use of the armed forces against Iran.
Trump ordered the initial strikes against Iran to begin on Feb. 28, an operation that U.S. forces carried out jointly with Israel.
Updated at 4 p.m. EDT
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