Centrist House Democrats save Trump from rebuke over war in Iran
Centrist house Democrats largely blocked a bipartisan effort to curb President trump’s authority to wage war in Iran, as a war powers resolution failed in the House 219-212. The measure, sponsored by Ro khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), would have required Congressional approval for military action against Iran.
Key details:
– Four Democrats voted against the resolution: Jared Golden (D-ME),Juan Vargas (D-CA),Henry Cuellar (D-TX),and Greg Landsman (D-OH). Two Republicans voted for it: Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson (R-OH).
– The Senate had already voted down a similar war powers measure; even if both chambers had passed, President Trump would likely have vetoed it.
– House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called the outcome the “right result,” saying the U.S. is not at war and that removing the Commander in Chief’s ability would be hazardous.
– Democrats and some critics argued that Trump provided no evidence of an imminent threat from Iran to justify the strikes, with leaders like Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) insisting Congress should have a role in any declaration of war.
– Ther was frustration with a recent all-member briefing on Iran, which several Democrats found unhelpful or insufficient for making the case for immediate action.
– The episode underscored ongoing partisan dynamics around war powers and presidential authority in foreign policy.
Centrist House Democrats bail Trump out on push to rein in war powers over Iran
President Donald Trump dodged a rebuke of his authorization of strikes against Iran, this time in the House, after a handful of centrist Democrats voted to tank a bipartisan war powers resolution.
The resolution, sponsored by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), failed 219-212. Four Democrats joined almost all Republicans in voting against the legislation, which would halt Trump’s ability to conduct war in Iran unless he received approval from Congress.
The Senate voted down a similar war powers resolution on Wednesday. Even if it had passed both chambers, Trump would have been likely to veto it.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Thursday’s vote down of the resolution was the “right result.”
“We are not at war. We have no intention of being at war. …It would have been a very dangerous gambit to take the Commander in Chief’s ability away to complete this mission. It would have been a very serious misstep by Congress, and I’m grateful that that that resolution failed,” Johnson said.
The four Democrats who voted no were Reps. Jared Golden (D-ME), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Greg Landsman (D-OH).
Massie and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) were the two Republicans who voted for the war powers resolution, which due to the razor-thin majority would have been enough to sink the resolution. But the four Democrats crossing the aisle secured it’s failure, a blow to Democratic leaders who were working overtime to try and get their caucus members on board.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) told reporters ahead of the vote that he expected a “majority” of Democrats to support the war powers resolution but conceded that there was a “handful of people who are undecided.”
“As is the case, in any other instance, we’re down to the wire. … We continue to talk with each other,” Jeffries said.
Jeffries and several House Democratic committee leaders have blasted Trump for providing no evidence of the immediate threat posed by Iran that would authorize the strikes, which began early Saturday morning.
“Donald Trump is not a king, and if he believes the war with Iran is in our national interest, then he must come to Congress and make the case,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on the House floor Wednesday.
Davidson announced he would be a “yes” on the House floor on Wednesday, sharing similar sentiments with his Democratic colleagues that Congress, not the president, should make the call on declaring war.
“America is a republic, not an empire,” Davidson said. “So I encourage everyone to honor their oath and support our Constitution. Vote yes on this resolution.”
Democrats and Republicans met for an all-member briefing on Iran led by Trump administration officials on Tuesday. Democrats leaving that meeting were largely unanimous in their assessment of the briefing — that it was worthless.
“We got no additional information on what the imminent threat was,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) told reporters after the briefing. “There were a lot of references to the 47 years of Iran being a problem. … That is in the past. Imminent means immediate threat to the U.S. That was just not addressed at all.”
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