House Democrats Head for Symbolic Showdown to Curb Trump on Iran
Democrats Debate How to Limit Trump’s Options Against Iran
(Bloomberg) -- The House will vote Thursday on a resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s options for military action against Iran, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, adding that Democrats weren’t satisfied by the administration’s justification for last week’s airstrike that killed a top Iranian official.
The war powers resolution from Michigan Democratic Representative Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, would require the president to cease military actions against Iran unless authorized by Congress or in response to an imminent threat. A similar measure in the Senate has been introduced by Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine.
The vote is mostly symbolic because the Senate version is unlikely to attract much support from the chamber’s Republican majority and the House resolution by design would never go to the president to become law.
Pelosi said it is Congress’s duty “to keep the American people safe,” and she said Trump’s actions in the region have endangered diplomats and members of the military by escalating tensions with Iran.
“Members of Congress have serious, urgent concerns about the administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy moving forward,” Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday. “The president has made clear that he does not have a coherent strategy to keep the American people safe, achieve de-escalation with Iran and ensure stability in the region.”
Pelosi said the Democratic-led House “may also soon consider” legislation pushed by the party’s progressives to cut off funding for action against Iran and repeal existing military authorizations.
The challenge for Democrats is to defend Congress’s constitutional power to declare war without appearing to jeopardize national security after Iran retaliated for the U.S. strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. No Americans were hurt in the counter-attack, and Trump said Iran is “standing down” in the confrontation with the U.S.
“Congress, once again, has been basically pushed out of the loop, which I think is dangerous,” said Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel. “I don’t think the intent is to tie the president’s hand. The intent is to allow Congress to play the role it’s supposed to play.”
Military Authorization
Trump administration officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, briefed House and Senate members Wednesday afternoon on Capitol Hill. The classified briefings were originally scheduled to present the justification for the strike that killed Soleimani, although they could also include questions about Iran’s retaliatory strike.
After the House briefing, Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Democrats advancing a war powers resolution would be “a bad political move.”
“To claim this was not legal violates everything I know about the law,” Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran who served in Iraq, said about the administration’s justification for the strike.
Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton, a Democrat and also a veteran of the Iraq war, said he was unsatisfied by the administration’s explanation for the attack and that he supports a war powers resolution.
“Everything in that briefing confirmed all my concerns and fears,” Moulton said.
The 1973 War Powers Act limits the president’s military options without consulting Congress. The House bill was introduced as a concurrent resolution, which means it would be a symbolic measure that wouldn’t need Trump’s signature but wouldn’t have the force of law.
The House bill would remove U.S. forces from unauthorized conflicts immediately, whereas Kaine’s Senate bill would remove troops no later than 30 days after the enactment of the measure.
Kaine’s version also says that the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force passed by Congress after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks do not cover action against Iran. The Trump administration justified killing Soleimani both by citing the 2002 AUMF and saying he presented an imminent threat to Americans.
While the Senate resolution has little chance of passing the Republican-led chamber, Kaine did pick up two GOP supporters on Wednesday: Utah Senator Mike Lee and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.
Both libertarian-leaning Republicans said they were unsatisfied by the administration’s briefing, with Lee calling it the worst briefing on military affairs he’s heard since coming to Congress. Their reaction stood in stark contrast to the glowing reception from most GOP Senators who said they were content with the explanation for the strike.
Lee called the briefing “insulting” and said, “after today, every time they pull a stunt like this, I’m willing to consider and introduce any and every war powers act resolution.”
AUMF Repeal
Pelosi didn’t grant the request from her most progressive members to include in Thursday’s vote a measure from California Representative Barbara Lee to repeal the 2002 AUMF, as well as a bill from Ro Khanna, another California Democrat, to restrict taxpayer funds for military action in Iran that has not been explicitly authorized by Congress. She instead said the House May act on them.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a Senate companion bill for Khanna’s measure. That proposal was included in the House version of the defense policy bill passed last year, but was stripped out of the final version that became law.
New Jersey Representative Andy Kim, who was a national security aide in the Obama administration, said Democrats and Republicans should work together to protect American lives and interests.
“We do know that there has been lasting damage to our core priorities in the Middle East,” Kim said. “This administration certainly has a lot to answer for.”
--With assistance from Emily Wilkins and Daniel Flatley.
To contact the reporters on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net;Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Joe Sobczyk
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