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The Senate on rejected a Democratic-led resolution to halt the war with Iran by a vote of 50 to 49, with three Republicans breaking ranks to support the measure.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: In 1973, the United States passed the War Powers Resolution to limit a president’s authority to commit US troops to combat without congressional approval. The law gives the president 60 days to deploy US forces before having to ask Congress for permission to keep going. Trump notified Congress of strikes on Iran on March 2, putting the deadline around early May. The administration argues the 60-day clock no longer applies because the April 7 ceasefire effectively ended hostilities. Democrats and a small but growing group of Republicans reject that reading, pointing to roughly 50,000 US troops still deployed to the region, an ongoing US naval blockade of Iranian ports, and recent exchanges of fire in the Strait of Hormuz.

What’s going on now: In a 50 to 49 vote, Republican Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined most Democrats in voting to advance the measure. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the lone Democrat to vote against it, casting the deciding ballot that killed the resolution. The measure, sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, would have directed Trump to pull US armed forces from hostilities against Iran absent a formal declaration of war or specific authorization.

“We’re in a different place than we were last time we voted on this,” Murkowski told reporters after the vote. “I thought that perhaps we would get more clarity from the administration in terms of where we are, and I haven’t received it.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune urged Republicans to hold the line, pointing to Trump’s overseas meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “I think right now the president is overseas, he’s negotiating with the Chinese on a whole range of issues, some of which bear on national security, and I think it would be best if everybody hung together and supported the president,” Thune said before the vote.