The News
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Thursday that she believes the US war in Iran will need congressional authorization once it hits a 60-day mark that past legislation established for military conflicts — and she doesn’t think she’d vote for it.
“It is very likely that I would vote not to authorize further hostilities,” Collins said at Semafor World Economy in Washington, DC.
Democrats are hammering Collins, who is facing a tough reelection campaign this year, for her March vote against a resolution that aimed to restrain US President Donald Trump’s authority for Iran. Collins said she “always wanted this operation to be brief but successful.”
“I have said from the very beginning that if the military hostilities in Iran continue to that 60th day, then I believe the War Powers Act is implemented, and the president would need congressional authorization to continue the war in Iran,” Collins said.
She also described “another red line”: deploying ground troops in Iran, “except in extraordinary circumstances” like the recent US rescue operations for two downed airmen. She said that such a move would also require congressional authorization.
Other Republican senators who spoke at Semafor World Economy, including Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla, and Todd Young, R-Ind., described the 1973 war-powers legislation as a significant date for Congress.
The US began striking Iran on Feb. 28 this year, meaning the 60-day threshold arrives April 29.
Know More
Collins, first elected to the Senate in 1996, chairs the chamber’s powerful appropriations committee. She repeatedly touted her statute on the committee on Thursday, including the ability to fund projects in Maine.
The frontrunner in the Democratic primary, veteran-turned-oyster farmer Graham Platner, recently noted her influence on the committee. At a campaign event, Platner said he would also seek to be on the appropriations committee “to make sure that we can bring money into a small, rural state.” He added: “Susan Collins has done that; I don’t believe that she’s done that nearly to the extent she could.”
On Thursday, Collins suggested Platner was making the case for her own reelection.
“I was pleased that he acknowledged how important my seniority and power are to the state of Maine, so I was glad to hear him say that,” she said.
“It’s hard for a freshman to get on the appropriations committee,” she added. “But even if a freshman can get on the appropriations committee, it takes a very long time to work your way up.”