The attempt by Democrats in the U.S. Senate to limit Trump’s presidential power by passing a resolution invoking the War Powers Act went down to defeat, pretty much along party lines, in a vote Friday evening, by a tally of 53-47.

The Senate on Friday blocked a Democratic resolution that would have forced President Trump to go to Congress for approval of further military action against Iran, dealing a blow to efforts to rein in his war powers.

The 53-to-47 vote against bringing up the resolution, mostly along party lines, came nearly a week after the president unilaterally ordered strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities without consulting the House and Senate. It also followed a searing debate on the Senate floor over the role of Congress in authorizing the use of military force.

The measure, sponsored by Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, invoked the War Powers Act, a 1973 law aimed at limiting a president’s power to enter an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. It would have required the White House to notify lawmakers and seek the approval of both the House and Senate before U.S. forces could take further military action against Iran.

Barrasso added that passage of the war powers provision would “prevent the president from protecting us in the future.”