The first attempt by Senate Democrats to pass a war powers resolution since President Donald Trump’s genocidal threat against Iran last Tuesday has failed, despite the vast unpopularity of the war among the public and a looming deadline for the administration.

Senators failed to advance the resolution, introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), in a 47 to 52 vote. The legislation failed largely on party lines, with staunchly pro-Israel Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) voting against and Sen. Ron Paul (R-Kentucky) voting to advance. Sen. Jim Justice (R-West Virginia), who is frequently absent, did not vote.

This was the fourth attempt by senators to pass a war powers resolution since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, with Fetterman and Paul defecting from their parties each time. The previous three votes, to put lawmakers on the record on the war and potentially garner the support to rein in the war, have had identical results each time.

Democrats had hoped that this vote would be different. The Democratic effort to force war powers votes gained six new senators this week, bringing the total coalition to 12 senators who vow to bring war powers resolutions to a vote each week. Criticism of the war reached a fever pitch last week, when Trump threatened that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” as he warned of vast strikes on civilian infrastructure in Iran.

But Republicans have staunchly stood by President Donald Trump, even with a looming May 1 deadline for the Trump administration to obtain congressional approval for the war as mandated by the War Powers Resolution of 1973.

On Tuesday, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) complained to reporters, per Politico, that the votes to rein in the war that’s killed over 1,700 civilians in Iran so far are “exhausting” and “undermin[e] the president.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) told The Washington Post that he expects the administration to adhere to the 60-day deadline — in spite of Trump openly admitting in his sole live address to the public on the war that he is unconstitutionally flouting Congress to conduct the war.

Republicans’ support for the war — and weakening of their own powers to declare war as members of Congress — comes despite the war being extremely unpopular among the public. Just this week, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that only 24 percent of Americans say the war has been worth the “costs and benefits,” while only 35 percent say that they approve of the strikes on Iran.

“We must not and cannot normalize President Trump’s reckless actions that have brought us to this point,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), who has said that his top priority is ending the war, in remarks on the floor before the vote. Van Hollen pointed out that Trump has been saying for three weeks that the U.S. has already won.

“My question for my Republican colleagues is: If we won, what the hell are we still doing there?” Van Hollen said. “Well, we didn’t win, and it’s impossible to measure how you win, because the president never set forth clear rationales for this war — because there wasn’t really one to be had.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is gearing up to unleash its aggression on yet another country, even amid shaky negotiations with Iran to end the current war. USA TODAYreported on Wednesday that the Pentagon is preparing for a military operation in Cuba, as Trump has repeatedly said that Cuba is “going to be next.”

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