Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., says he has enough Republican votes to pass a resolution limiting President Donald Trump's military actions against Iran, reports Politico.
Kaine needs a majority 51 votes to pass the resolution and says Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah; Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Todd Young, R-Ind., will support his measure.
"We have been able to make some amendments that have earned the support first of Sens. Lee and Paul, but now the support also of Sens. Young and Collins," Kaine told reporters Tuesday. "There are a number of other Republicans looking at it. We now have the 51 votes we need.
"In conversations with Republican colleagues, especially after the briefing last week, they were discouraged that the attitude that was being communicated to us that Congress is an annoyance," and they only wanted to provide "morsels of information," he added.
Kaine was referring to the briefing given to lawmakers by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, CIA Director Gina Haspel, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire on the drone strike that targeted Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Iraq last week.
Lee said it was, "probably the worst briefing I've seen, at least on a military issue, in the nine years I've served in the U.S. Senate."
Kaine worked with the four Republicans and others in recent days to make changes to the resolution.
"The Kaine resolution would continue to allow the president to respond to emergencies created by aggression from any hostile nation, including Iran, and to repel an imminent attack by Iran or its proxy forces," Collins said in a statement. "It simply makes clear that only the Legislative Branch may declare war or commit our armed forces to a sustained military conflict with Iran."
Solange Reyner ✉
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