Congress passes war powers measure for first time, rebuking Trump's war with Iran

The vote marks the first time that both chambers of Congress have approved a concurrent resolution instructing a president to end a military action since the War Powers Resolution of 1973 was enacted.A concurrent resolution expresses the sentiment or will of Congress, as opposed to other forms of legislation that go to the president to be signed into law. In 2019, Trump vetoed a joint resolution that called for the removal of armed forces from hostilities in the Yemeni civil war. Middle East analyst Laura Blumenfeld called it "more of a slap on a wrist than a handcuff, because it has no legal binding".But she told the BBC she thought what "it does reflect is the American people's sentiments".The concurrent resolution's passage is significant because it adds to pressure on the White House to find an end to the Iran war, which is unpopular with the public after petrol prices spiked. The same measure was passed earlier this month by the US House of Representatives, where four Republicans joined every Democrat to approve it in a 215-208 vote.But a White House official told the BBC that with the ceasefire agreed on 7 April, there are no hostilities from which to withdraw American forces. The official also said the measure only passed because two Republican senators were absent: Mitch McConnell and Dave McCormick.