When a Commander-in-Chief is negotiating with a hostile regime over its nuclear program, the absolute last thing this country needs is a gaggle of senators trying to kneecap him from the chamber floor. Executive war powers exist for precisely these moments. That’s not up for debate. It’s in the Constitution.

And yet, Senate Democrats have turned undermining Trump’s Iran authority into something of a weekly hobby. Every few days, another resolution. Another floor speech. Another attempt to broadcast the American division to Tehran at the worst possible time. Well, the latest attempt just hit the Senate floor — and it went about as well as the last eight.

From Breitbart:

By a single vote, the Senate shot down a proposal on Tuesday that would have reined in President Donald Trump’s ability to use military force against Iran without Congress’s approval.

The vote fell just one vote short of advancing with 48-47. Republican Senators Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy, Lisa Murkowski, and Rand Paul voted with the Democrats. On the flip side, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) crossed the aisle to vote alongside the Republican majority against the bill.

Good. The resolution is dead. Trump’s authority stands. The negotiating position holds. Breathe easy — for now.

A win for Trump — and a warning to four Republicans

Let’s not pretend this was a clean victory, though. Four Republican senators — four — voted to strip wartime authority from their own party’s president while he’s actively finalizing an Iran deal. That warrants some attention.

Collins and Murkowski? Nobody’s shocked. These two have elevated contrarianism to an art form. At this point, betting against them siding with Democrats on a key vote is just bad money management.

Rand Paul is at least intellectually honest about it. His stance on war powers is longstanding and rooted in libertarian conviction. Fair enough. But there’s a difference between a constitutional seminar and real-world diplomacy. Reading from the Federalist Papers while your president is days away from signing a deal with Iran isn’t principle — it’s self-indulgence with geopolitical consequences.

Then there’s Bill Cassidy, and his vote tells the ugliest story of all. The Associated Press reported that Cassidy first broke ranks last month — right after losing his own primary reelection bid in Louisiana to a challenger Trump endorsed. So the timeline is clear: Trump backed his opponent, Cassidy lost, and suddenly he discovered his conscience on war powers. That’s not principle. That’s a grudge dressed up as governance.

Compare that to retiring Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who had every reason to cast a protest vote on his way out the door but chose not to. “I just don’t think that it’s productive for me to cast a protest vote on something that I fundamentally support,” Tillis said. There it is. No drama, no theatrics. Just a straightforward assessment from a senator who gets it.

And here’s the part that should sting the four defectors most: Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans. A progressive Democrat from Pittsburgh grasped the stakes of this vote more clearly than Collins, Murkowski, Paul, and Cassidy combined. Let that marinate.

Nine times and counting

This was the ninth — ninth! — time Senate Democrats forced a war powers vote on Iran. Sen. Tim Kaine has promised to keep scheduling them practically every week. Schumer is already teasing the next one. At some point, you have to wonder whether this is about oversight or just about content for fundraising emails.

The House passed its own version earlier this month. It’s collected dust in the Senate ever since. Good riddance.

The deal is on the table

President Trump declared the Iran deal complete on Sunday. Congress does have a legitimate oversight role here — the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 already requires the administration to submit any nuclear-related agreement for congressional review. Nobody serious disputes that.

But that’s a scalpel. War powers resolutions are a sledgehammer — designed not to provide oversight but to gut presidential authority while diplomats are still at the table. There’s nothing responsible about it.

Republican voters have long memories. They should remember which four senators were willing to hand Democrats a weapon against their own president at the most critical juncture of his Iran strategy. Primaries exist for exactly this reason. Just ask Bill Cassidy how that works out.

Key Takeaways

• The Senate blocked the ninth Democratic attempt to strip Trump’s military authority over Iran.
• Four Republican senators — Collins, Murkowski, Paul, and Cassidy — voted against their own president.
• Democrat John Fetterman crossed the aisle to support Trump’s position on Iran.
• Bill Cassidy’s defection followed his loss in a Trump-endorsed primary.

Sources: Breitbart, Arkansas Online