In an unprecedented move, the president asked Congress for authority to wage war in Iraq before he had publicly declared that war was necessary or identified an imminent threat. Progressives saw this as a grab for power, and an attempt to write Congress out of the decision-making process for a war with dubious justification. Byrd (D-WV) proposed an amendment to the resolution on the use of force that clarified Congress had not abandoned its constitutional power to declare war, and that any additional use of force not connected to an imminent threat would require an additional grant of authority. Progressives supported this amendment, but they stood almost alone: the amendment was voted down 14-86.