By ROBERT JimISON and MEGAN MINEIRO NYTimes News Service
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WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked the latest Democratic-led effort to curb President Donald Trump’s authority to wage war on Iran, as a fragile ceasefire frays, dueling blockades choke traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and failed talks leave the next phase of the conflict uncertain.

The move to take up the measure failed on a vote of 52-47. It fell largely along party lines, with Republicans and a single Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, opposed and Democrats joined by a lone Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, in favor.

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It was the fourth time in recent weeks that Democrats have tried and failed to force Congress to reassert its war powers as the conflict, now stretching into its second month, continues. The repeated defeats underscore the durability of Republican backing for Trump, as his allies on Capitol Hill have foregone oversight of the war and repeatedly sought to avoid placing meaningful constraints on his authority.

Still, in the run-up to the vote, some GOP lawmakers suggested that their patience was wearing thin as the conflict drags on, its economic fallout reverberates among their constituents, and the president’s bellicose statements intensify.

“I hope that we are arriving at an exit strategy here to bring this to a close to preserve our security interests and bring down the cost of gasoline,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said of the war, now in its seventh week.

Other Republicans said the administration should do more to lay out its objectives and plan for the conflict. They expressed a fervent desire to see it end promptly.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said that should the president expect Congress to support continuing the conflict beyond 60 days — the initial window that the law gives a president to deploy armed forces into hostilities without congressional approval — officials from the administration should “come in and give us a full description of it and sell the point and the plan.”

The statutory deadline for Trump to either pull out U.S. troops or request a 30-day extension would fall on May 1. On Tuesday, Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., appeared to suggest that such an extension would not be necessary.

“This is going to be over soon,” he said.

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