The Senate gridlocked on the Iraq war in a sharply worded showdown on Saturday as Republicans foiled a Democratic attempt to rebuke President Bush over his deployment of 21,500 additional combat troops.
The vote was 56-34. That was four short of the 60 needed to advance the measure, which is identical to a nonbinding resolution that Democrats pushed through the House on Friday.
The seven Republican senators who broke ranks with their colleagues and voted in favor of the cloture motion were John W. Warner (Va.), Chuck Hagel (Neb.), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Gordon Smith (Ore.), Olympia Snowe (Me.), Arlen Specter (Pa.) and Susan M. Collins (Me.). Warner is the former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He was a principal sponsor, along with Collins and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), of a resolution that criticized the troop buildup and urged Bush to consider alternatives. That nonbinding resolution failed to pass the same procedural hurdle on Feb. 5.
One independent senator who caucuses with the Democrats, Joseph I. Lieberman(Conn.), joined 33 Republicans in opposing the cloture motion.
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