Recently, Democratic senators in the U.S. Senate forced a second vote on a bill aimed at limiting President Trump's power to launch military action against Tehran without congressional authorization, attempting to restrain Trump's hands from dragging the United States into a full-scale war in the Middle East.

However, the final voting results were exactly as expected by the public. The bill failed to pass with 47 votes in favor and 53 votes against, marking another failure for the Democrats' efforts to restrict Trump.

Figure caption: Original article from U.S. media

Looking at the specific voting results, this vote was almost entirely along party lines. Given that Republicans hold exactly 53 of the 100 Senate seats, this outcome fully reflects the current balance of power in Congress.

Among them, veteran Republican Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky broke ranks, becoming the only Republican to vote in favor of the Democrats, holding a traditional conservative isolationist stance, opposing the U.S. from launching arbitrary wars abroad; while Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman voted against alongside Republicans. He has long publicly supported Israel and is unwilling to limit the president's authority in defending Israel, believing the president should have sufficient autonomy to protect America's allies.

Figure caption: Republican Senator Rand Paul defected to the Democrats, while Democratic Senator Fetterman supported Trump

It is worth noting that this is the second time this month that the Democrats have tried to limit President Trump's war powers. At the beginning of this month, the Democrats had previously introduced an identical resolution, and the voting result was exactly the same, also failing to pass with 47 votes in favor and 53 votes against. Within just half a month, two identical votes resulted in the same outcome, indicating how rigid the partisan polarization in the U.S. Congress has become.

According to the War Powers Act passed in 1973, although the U.S. president has the power to take military action to defend the country in emergencies, any military action lasting more than 60 days must be authorized by Congress, otherwise the troops must be withdrawn. However, over the past few decades, Congress has repeatedly approved broad authorizations for the use of military force, granting the executive branch significant command authority over military actions, even allowing the president to launch strikes without immediate consultation with the legislative branch. This has led to the president's war powers growing increasingly unbounded.

At present, the fundamental reason why the Democrats' multiple restriction bills have not been passed by the Senate is that both the Senate and the House of Representatives are firmly controlled by the Republicans, and Trump already has enough "people" in Congress to protect him, making it difficult for the Democrats to challenge his legislation.

Figure caption: The U.S. Senate chamber

In total, the Senate has 100 seats, with Republicans occupying 53 and Democrats 47, a difference of six seats. This means that as long as no more than five Republican senators defect, the Democrats' proposed bills will find it difficult to pass. Moreover, Trump enjoys high support within the Republican Party, and most Republican senators dare not go against his will. Therefore, it is almost impossible for the Democrats to secure enough votes to push forward anti-Trump bills.

As for the House of Representatives, the situation is similar. In the 435 seats of the House of Representatives, Republicans occupy 217 seats, and Democrats 214, with the remaining four seats held by independent parties or vacant due to the death of representatives. In total, the Republicans have a slight advantage of three seats, controlling the House of Representatives. Although the advantage is small, as long as the Republicans remain united, they can easily block any bill submitted by the Democrats.

Figure caption: The Republicans currently have a narrow advantage in controlling both chambers of Congress

It should be noted that both chambers of Congress being controlled by the Republicans brings obvious benefits to the Trump administration in advancing domestic and foreign policies, effectively giving Trump a green light for governance.

On one hand, domestically, Trump's core campaign promises such as tax cuts, infrastructure development, and immigration restrictions can now be smoothly passed through Congress, without the need to negotiate with the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives as in his first term, greatly improving the efficiency of policy implementation.

On the other hand, in foreign policy, Trump has greater autonomy. Whether it is military strikes in the Middle East, tariff policies toward Europe, or strategic deployments in the Asia-Pacific, he does not need to worry about Congressional interference and can proceed according to his own strategic intentions.

More importantly, due to Trump's high support rate within the Republican Party, he has essentially become the "spiritual leader" of the party. Most party members regard his statements as guidelines for action and tolerate his various decisions, even if some policies clearly deviate from traditional Republican ideals, few Republican lawmakers dare to speak out against them.

Figure caption: Many of Trump's policies have received support from Republicans

This means that as long as Trump's policies do not touch the core interests of the Republicans, he can act freely, making it difficult for the Democrats to restrict him. Even if the Democrats file lawsuits against Trump in the judicial system, the Republican-controlled Congress can support Trump through budgeting, personnel appointments, and other means.

Of course, Trump is not completely without constraints. If his policies severely damage the overall interests of the Republicans or his approval rating drops significantly, Republican lawmakers may also turn against him. However, at present, Trump's control over the Republicans remains very strong, and there is no one who can challenge his position in the short term. His path to governance is quite smooth.

Nevertheless, this unregulated power carries significant risks, especially in terms of foreign military actions. Without congressional constraints, Trump may impulsively launch foreign wars, ultimately bringing great disasters to the United States and the world. This is the fundamental reason why the Democrats are so concerned.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7619890407945650722/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.