House passes war powers resolution in effort to restrict Trump’s actions against Iran

• By Claudia Grisales/NPR

The House of Representatives approved a resolution that would force President Trump to seek consent from Congress before taking new military action against Iran.

The move comes nearly a week after President Trump green-lighted a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general and led to further escalation in tensions with Tehran.

The non-binding war powers resolution was approved in a mostly party line vote of 224-194. Only 3 Republicans and one independent joined Democrats to pass the measure and 8 Democrats opposed it.

The Senate could consider a similar measure — but one that has the force of law — as early as next week, but is it unclear it has enough votes to clear the chamber. Trump administration officials maintain the president already has the authority to take action against Iran under a 2002 war authorization passed by Congress in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

The House vote also comes after briefings for lawmakers on Wednesday from top Trump administration officials left Democrats — and some Republicans — unhappy with a lack of transparency that fueled the decision to strike Iran.

“You would think anytime we would engage in such an important change in approach that we would be working together, consulting together, respecting the approach that each sides takes to all of this and hopefully be on one side of it all,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said ahead of the resolution’s passage. “What this does is very important for the security of this country.”

The measure was sponsored by Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a former CIA analyst who worked on Middle East policy.

The war powers measure crafted by House Democrats was written as a concurrent resolution, which is traditionally considered nonbinding and doesn’t require the president’s signature.

Earlier Thursday, Pelosi said they purposely took this approach to ensure the chamber could send a clear message to the president.

“We are taking this path because it does not require …a signature of the president of the United States,” she said. “This is a statement of the Congress of the United States, and I will not have that statement be diminished by whether the president will veto it or not.”

The concerns touch on a years-long debate that the president’s war powers are woefully outdated. Under the Trump administration, Democrats and some Republicans have renewed calls for new legislation addressing the president’s Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF.

Congress has debated how to craft a new AUMF specifically focused on Iran, but it has failed to get consensus around the right language that would satisfy the broad ideological spectrum that wants the legislative branch to reassert its power to declare war.

On Thursday, administration officials issued a statement strongly opposing the House war powers measure.

“This concurrent resolution is misguided, and its adoption by Congress could undermine the ability of the United States to protect American citizens whom Iran continues to seek to harm,” the statement from the Office of Management and Budget on the administration’s policy said.

A series of Trump allies and House Republicans also expressed their opposition to the measure on the House floor Thursday. They argued that Trump used the authority given to the president under an authorization of approved after the 9/11 attacks.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said Trump was working well within his war authorities by striking out against Iran. And the move ended the life of an “evil terrorist” with the death of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

“This place is a safer place with Soleimani gone,” Scalise, R-La., said.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, also attacked the Democrats’ efforts.

“Thankfully this is a resolution going nowhere,” Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said. “This is not a resolution, this is a retreat, a defacto apology.”

However, some Senate Republicans have expressed interest in recent days to support a similar measure in their chamber.

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, who is sponsoring the war powers resolution, says he could bring up his measure for a vote as early as Tuesday. He said it would likely have to be coordinated with a potential trial if articles of impeachment are sent to the chamber beforehand.

However, Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, have already said they will support the measure. And Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Todd Young, R-Ind., have also been in talks with Kaine about the legislation and could also line up support.

“We are at the brink of war right now. So I think the stakes are much higher now,” Kaine said in arguing for the measure. “I think it increases the necessity of the bill.”