Republicans called off a vote that would have sought to reject a war powers resolution aimed at curbing President Donald Trump's ability to conduct the war in Iran without congressional approval.
The Associated Press detailed that GOP leaders made the decision after it became apparent that they would not get the necessary votes to block the measure.
Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, who sponsored the bill, said it "had the votes without question and they knew it, and as a result they're playing a political game."
House Republican Leader Steve Scalise, in turn, said the vote was delayed to give absent lawmakers a chance to vote.
Support has been waning in the Senate too. The Upper House approved for the first time such a resolution after Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy flipped his vote following his defeat in the Republican primary.
Cassidy joined Rand Paul, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski in backing the resolution. The final vote was 50-47, as John Fetterman was again the lone Democrat who voted against it.
"While I support the administration's efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program, the White House and Pentagon have left Congress in the dark on Operation Epic Fury," Cassidy said in a social media publication after the vote. "Until the administration provides clarity, no congressional authorization or extension can be justified."
However, even if a war powers resolution is passed both in the House and the Senate, it is not clear whether Trump would comply with it, considering that the White House has claimed that hostilities have technically ceased because there is a ceasefire.
Negotiations appear fluid in the meantime. Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has reportedly a directive saying that the country's enriched uranium must remain in the country, according to a new report.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the "Supreme Leader's directive, and the consensus within the establishment, is that the stockpile of enriched uranium should not leave the country" as such a development could leave the country more vulnerable to future attacks.
Moreover, Israeli officials told the outlet that Trump assured the country that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium will be removed from the country and any deal must include a related clause before it can be approved.
