The US Senate on Thursday failed to override President Donald Trump's veto of a measure that would have limited his power to attack Iran.
Lawmakers voted 49-44 to support the resolution that passed Congress earlier this year, short of the two-thirds majority necessary to override the President's veto, AFP reported.
That resolution said the president cannot commit US forces to hostilities against Iran or any part of its government or military without explicit authorization from Congress.
The House approved the resolution in a 227-186 vote in March as one of its last votes before leaving town. Six Republicans joined with Democrats in approving the measure.
That followed the Senate’s 55-45 approval in February, when eight Republicans voted with Democrats to support the resolution.
The resolution followed criticism from Democrats over Trump’s order to eliminate Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq at the beginning of January. The Democrats claim he should have consulted with Congress beforehand.
On Wednesday, however, Trump vetoed the resolution which he described as “insulting”.
“This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party. The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands. Congress should not have passed this resolution,” he said.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stood by the President before Thursday’s vote, saying, "We must maintain the measure of deterrence we restored with the decisive strike on Soleimani.”
"That starts today with upholding the president's rightful veto of a misguided war powers resolution," he added.
Senate Democrat Tim Kaine said Trump has a "fundamental misunderstanding" of the congressional mandate on matters of war.
"We're not required to play 'mother may I' with the President," Kaine said. "We have our own independent responsibilities that we swear to uphold."