The GOP-led Senate rejected on Friday a measure that sought to stop President Donald Trump from launching further attacks on Iran without the consent of Congress.

Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) war powers resolution was defeated in a 53-47 vote, mostly along party lines. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the sole Republican to vote “yea” while Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) joined the rest of the GOP in opposing it.

“The Framers of our Constitution gave Congress the power to declare war because they believed that the decision to send our nation’s men and women in uniform into harm’s way was too big for any one person. The Trump Administration’s chaotic strategy on Iran confused the American people and created significant risks for servicemembers and their families,” Kaine said in a statement.

“I am disappointed that many of my colleagues are not willing to stand up and say Congress needs to be part of a decision as important as whether or not the U.S. should send our nation’s sons and daughters to fight against Iran,” he added. “I will continue to do all I can to keep presidents of any party from starting wars without robust public debate by Congress.”

Trump ordered military strikes on three sites in Iran last weekend as part of an effort to prevent Tehran from achieving nuclear weapons. Although the president deemed the operation a success and called for peace following a counterattack on a U.S. military base in Qatar with no American casualties, he warned on Friday that the United States would bomb Iran again if it resumed enriching uranium to high levels.

In a statement released after the vote, Sen. Susan Collins (R-MA) argued that Congress did not need to give Trump authorization at this time.

“Since the despicable attacks on October 7, 2023, Iran has continued to use proxies and empowered terrorist groups to attack American servicemembers and our ally Israel. This week, Iran threatened to attack Americans on our own soil and around the world,” Collins said. “I supported the President’s targeted strike on Iran’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities because a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an unacceptable threat to America and our allies. I also applaud the current ceasefire. Given this backdrop, it is the wrong time to consider this resolution and to risk inadvertently sending a message to Iran that the President cannot swiftly defend Americans at home and abroad.”

“There has always been a Constitutional tension between Article I vesting in Congress the power to declare war and Article II designating the President as Commander-in-Chief,” she added. “I continue to believe that Congress has an important responsibility to authorize the sustained use of military force. That is not the situation we are facing now. The President has the authority to defend our nation and our troops around the world against the threat of attack.”

Some lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House are pushing for another war powers vote, but Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters that he did not think it was necessary.

“I don’t think this is an appropriate time for a war powers resolution, and I don’t think it’s necessary. Listen, for 80 years, presidents of both parties have acted with the same commander in chief authority under Article 2” of the Constitution, Johnson said.

Johnson went on to mention how Democrats who are complaining now did not seem to mind when former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama conducted military operations in the region without seeking explicit approval from Congress for those campaigns.

“You had President Biden use it three times in Middle East operations. President Obama went on an eight-month campaign bombing Libya to take down the regime there. I never heard a Democrat balk about any of that,” Johnson said. “And suddenly now they’re just up in arms. It’s all politics. This is not a time for politics.”