A handful of Republicans joined Democrats and bucked President Donald Trump to rein in his powers for his war in Iran on Wednesday afternoon.
The House passed a War Powers Act resolution on Tuesday 215-208. The move came after four Republicans defected to the Democratic side.
Under the law, troops must withdraw within 60 days unless Congress declares war or authorizes the use of military force. The president must also inform Congress within 48 of committing armed forces into action.
Previous attempts to rein in the president on Iran have failed because they mostly fell along party lines. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that “we’re not at war right now” in Iran. Even as the White House sent troops to the region, Johnxson said that the United States did not have “boots on the ground.”
Two weeks ago, the House was set to vote on a War Powers Act resolution to rein in the president on Iran. But Republicans dragged out a vote on a separate piece of legislation for a women’s history museum as it attempted to prevent the passage of the resolution.
But as time has progressed, some Republicans have become restless. During the last War Powers Act resolution, three Republicans broke with House GOP leadership: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.), Tom Barrett (R-Mich.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). On Wednesday, a fourth member joined them: Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio.
Massie’s outspoken criticism of the war in Iran led to the White House engaging in a full-court press against him during his primary and Ed Gallrein beat him last month.
In addition, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) flipped his vote after he had previously opposed War Powers Resolutions.
“I also think people should understand that this is, for me, a matter of separation of powers and the law,” he told The Independent. “We’re past 60 days now. If the president wants the authority to continue the operations, then I think he’s got to come to Congress and make the case.”
But Republicans might be running out of options. During the last War Powers vote, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) was out recovering from eye surgery and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.) was not present. Both will likely be present on Wednesday.
By contrast, Rep. Tom Kean (R-N.J.) has gone missing and has missed almost 90 days of work. Kean has said he has been dealing with health complications, but refused to disclose them. On Tuesday, he won his primary after Trump endorsed him.
At the same time, some Republicans might be present this time when they were not previously available. Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) will likely return since she is no longer campaigning in Louisiana’s Senate primary after she made the runoff election.
But Trump’s decision to endorse Letlow to replace Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) might facilitate the War Powers Act resolution’s passage in the Senate.
Before the Senate let out two weeks ago, Cassidy voted to allow the resolution to allow the resolution to proceed, which led to a 50-47 “yes” vote.
In addition, Trump’s decision to endorse an opponent Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina in the primary for governor might lead to her voting with Democrats. She had told The Independent in March that she might support a resolution.
“President Trump has done a phenomenal job,” she said at the time. “So far, he’s been excellent, but I am deeply concerned about the Washington war machine, getting their talons into the White House and getting us into a protracted and elongated and endless war with Iran.”
But last month, she signaled she was not ready to support a resolution yet since there was a ceasefire.
“I want to give the president room to negotiate,” she said in May. “If we were still bombing Iran every day, hundreds, thousands of missiles. I think it’s a different story.”
