The House of Representatives has voted to limit President Donald Trump’s war powers in Iran.
House Democrats had been introducing such resolutions again and again to put pressure on Republicans, who had been consistently voting them down. However, this time, just enough Republicans crossed the aisle to pass the measure, with four GOP lawmakers joining in a 215-208 vote.
The votes invoke the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which in theory mandates that presidents remove forces from a conflict if Congress has not authorized continued operations within 60 days.
According to The Washington Post, Senate lawmakers “advanced a similar resolution last month on a procedural vote,” which reflects “growing impatience with a war Congress hasn’t authorized.”
This comes after House Foreign Affairs ranking Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) gave a fiery speech against the war earlier this week, saying, “We are trapped in a war that won’t end because an incompetent president launched it thinking of only his own ego while failing to prepare for the consequences. Diplomacy is the only exit from this, not more bombing, not more bluster.”
While the vote is a step forward to Congress reclaiming its war powers, the report noted, the resolution “faces sizable hurdles” as “to reach Trump’s desk, the Senate resolution would require a final vote in the chamber, which could be tough if every senator is voting” and it is unclear whether the resolution is “privileged” under Senate rules, meaning it advances to a vote automatically without needing approval of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).
Many Republicans who oppose the resolution have insisted that the war is nearly over anyway, with Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) saying, “We are not in hostilities. We are out there with almost the exact same number of forces that we continually keep in the region.”
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