House votes to rein in Trump on Iran

Source: Politico | January 9, 2020 | Sarah Ferris and Andrew Desiderio

The non-binding measure limits Trump’s ability to go to war with Iran without first seeking congressional approval.

The House voted on Thursday to halt further U.S. military action against Iran, in a powerful rebuke of President Donald Trump’s use of force overseas without congressional approval.

The mostly party-line vote on a symbolic, non-binding resolution came days after Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani — a move that instantly threatened to rope the United States into a wider conflict with Iran.

Trump has since sought to cool tensions in the region after Iran’s retaliatory missile strike on U.S. bases in Iraq earlier this week yielded no casualties. But his administration’s defense of the Soleimani attack in classified briefings was ridiculed by Democrats and even some Republicans, prompting the House to act.

The War Powers resolution, which passed by a vote of 224 to 194, limits Trump’s ability to go to war with Iran without first seeking congressional approval. And while the measure does not require a presidential signature, it comes amid what critics contend has been a decades-long abdication of Congress’ authority to declare war.

“We owe it to our military and to ourselves as a nation to open this conversation of the authorization of military force, to provide our troops that clarity and to abide by the Constitution that we have all sworn to protect,” said Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a former CIA analyst and the lead sponsor of the bill.

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    <p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>BREAKING: House passes Iran War Powers resolution limiting Trump’s power to go to war with Iran without congressional authorization, one week after a U.S. strike killed Qassem Soleimani.<br><br>Vote was 224-194.<br><br>GOP ayes: 3<br>Dem nos: 8https://t.co/EW56WhhFPq</p>— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) January 9, 2020

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