Four House Republicans voted with nearly every single Democrat on Wednesday to force President Donald Trump to end hostilities with Iran, handing the commander in chief a high-profile foreign policy defeat.
The House, in a 215-208 vote, passed legislation to “remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities against Iran unless explicitly authorized” by Congress. The Senate passed a similar measure a few weeks back.
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Rep. Jared Golden, the sole Democrat who defected on all three of the previous votes, voted for the measure after expressing his support for a “clean” resolution last month. All Democrats were joined by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tom Barrett (R-MI), and Warren Davidson (R-OH). These GOP members, minus Davidson, backed limiting Trump’s war powers last month as well. Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA), who caucuses with Republicans, voted against the measure.
Ahead of the vote, Fitzpatrick told the Washington Examiner the White House did not lobby him to change his vote.
“They know where I stand on it,” Fitzpatrick said.
Barrett echoed a similar sentiment, telling the Washington Examiner that “it’s pretty well indicated where I’ve been at on these things.”
This vote comes after House GOP leadership pulled a vote before the Memorial Day recess, through a procedural loophole, in an effort to delay the passage of this resolution.
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In a similar vote earlier this year, only Massie broke with the White House. This month’s vote tripled the number of GOP defections, ultimately leading to the passage of Wednesday’s resolution, introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-NY).
The resolution heads to the Senate, where its future is to be decided. Even if it clears the upper chamber, Trump would likely veto the resolution. The Senate advanced a version of the bill last month, 50-47, after three Republican senators missed the vote. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted for the measure, as they had on previous votes. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) joined the Republican defections for the May vote after his primary loss.
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This week’s vote was also a bigger test of Trump’s war powers because the conflict with Iran has pushed well past the 90-day mark. The 1973 War Powers Resolution limits a president’s unilateral military action to 60 days before having to seek authorization from Congress. The law does allow the president to grant himself a one-time 30-day extension, subject to limitations on offensive operations.
The White House has argued that the war, which started on Feb. 28, has yet to reach the threshold because of a shaky ceasefire in place with Iran.
