Dems vow to force weekly Iran war votes after GOP blocks latest move to curb Trump

By Fox News · Fox News

Senate Republicans again didn’t budge against Senate Democrats’ bid to handcuff President Donald Trump's war powers in Iran. Senate Democrats again forced a vote on a war powers resolution to rein in Trump’s military authority in Iran, which Senate Republicans again blocked. It’s also been less than a week since Democrats triggered a war powers resolution in their bid to force the Trump administration to publicly explain the ongoing conflict. The resolution, this time from Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., was blocked on a largely party-line vote, save for Sen. Rand Paul , R-Ky., who joined all Senate Democrats to advance the measure. It’s part of a flood-the-zone strategy Senate Democrats are taking to force Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to testify publicly before the Senate. Earlier this month, Murphy and a cohort of Senate Democrats unveiled their plan to force votes on five war powers resolutions. DHS SHUTDOWN TIED FOR SECOND-LONGEST EVER AS DEMS AGAIN BLOCK FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS, TERRORISM CONCERNS "We're not going to let the Senate be silent until they make at the very least that commitment," Murphy said at the time. "I don't think they can defend this war." Whether either Hegseth or Rubio is forced to testify before the Senate Armed Services and Senate Foreign Relations panels, respectively, remains in the air, given that neither committee chair has made the move to request the administration officials appear. TOM COTTON PUTS BIDEN ON NOTICE WHILE DEMANDING ANSWERS ON DRAINING OF NATION’S OIL STOCKPILE The latest attempt to cuff Trump’s war powers comes as his strategy in Iran dramatically shifted in a moment of whiplash from the weekend to Monday. Over the weekend, Trump warned that unless Iran fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. would "hit and obliterate" the nation’s power plants. But then Trump shifted gears Monday and announced that the U.S. and Iran had been engaged in "very good and productive conversations…