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On Tuesday, the United States Senate passed a concurrent resolution telling President Donald Trump that if he wants to continue the war on Iran or resume hostilities, he should seek congressional authorization first.

The measure, which has already passed the House of Representatives, is largely symbolic, as it doesn’t carry the legal weight to compel Trump to comply. Still, it signals to the administration that congressional opinion, including among some members of his party, is shifting away from allowing the president to continue the unauthorized war he launched in late February.

The 50-48 vote in favor of the resolution was mostly along party lines. Four Republican senators — Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) — joined with nearly every Democrat in the chamber to pass the resolution. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) was the lone Democrat to vote against the measure. Sens. Dave McCormick (R-Pennsylvania) and Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) were absent for the vote.

While most legal analyses suggest that the measure is unenforceable, at least one Democratic lawmaker indicated that the vote could be used alongside the War Powers Act of 1973 to compel an end to the war through other legal channels.

“Regardless of what President Trump says, this measure is binding under the War Powers........

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