‘Poorly timed, meaningless’: Trump slams US Congress for passing War Powers resolution to end Iran war

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) slammed Congress for clearing a largely symbolic resolution calling for an end to the war with Iran, terming it "poorly timed and meaningless."

He made these remarks in a Truth Social post and wrote, “So, I have Iran on the 'ropes,' ready to go down for the fall, willing to give us practically anything, and for the first time in decades, respecting the hell out of the United States and its President, ME, and the U.S. Senate decides to have a poorly timed and meaningless War Powers Act Vote, telling the Number One Sponser of Terror in the World that the United States doesn’t like what I am doing to them, and I must stop, and by so doing has provided aid and comfort the Enemy.”

The US President also slammed the Republican lawmakers who voted alongside Democrats to end the war and added, "Four Republican Losers voted with the Dumocrats, and Iran asked my people, 'What does that all mean?' These Senators have just made my job more difficult, but I will get it done, one way or the other, because I always get it done!"

Congress clears War Powers resolution to halt Iran war

Trump's remarks came hours after the US Senate joined the House of Representatives in directing Trump to halt Washington's military action against Tehran, marking the latest rebuke of the Republican President from increasingly uneasy Congress, Reuters reported.

The Senate voted 50-48 in favour of the war powers resolution, which was cleared by the House of Representatives earlier this month, highlighting growing concerns even among some of Trump's Republican loyalists regarding the unpopular conflict that began on 28 February when the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran.

It marked the first time both chambers of Congress had passed a resolution directing a US President to remove the country's armed forces from hostilities since the War Powers Resolution, also known as the War Powers Act, was enacted in 1973.

While likely to remain largely symbolic, the vote marked a setback for Trump, who until recently had enjoyed near-unanimous support from Republican members of Congress. It also comes at a time when the administration is expected to ask Congress to approve tens of billions of dollars to cover the cost of the Iran war.

War Powers Act unconstitutional, not binding: White House

After Congress cleared the vote, the White House has insisted the War Powers Act is not constitutional and thus not binding. On Tuesday, a White House official also noted that the Senate's vote holds no importance because the resolutions do not go to the president and have no force of law, and the measure passed only because two Republicans were absent, Reuters reported.

The official further said the resolution directs the US President to remove forces from hostilities, which the White House says were terminated with a ceasefire on 7 April.

What is the War Powers Resolution?

The 1973 War Powers Resolution sets out specific timelines for informing Congress about military engagements and outlines when a president must remove US forces from a conflict if lawmakers have not approved. Under the law, if Congress does not explicitly authorise the military action by the deadline, the president is required to end the deployment of US armed forces.

Under the 1973 War Powers Act, the concurrent resolution, passed by both the House and Senate, does not go to the White House for Trump's signature. In the 1973 law, Congress intended such resolutions as a mechanism for ending military operations.