House Democrats Promise Iran War Powers Vote as Soon as Recess Ends

House Democrats are promising to move forward with their war powers resolution to force President Trump to seek congressional authorization for his attacks on Iran. Once the House returns, a vote is expected to be held immediately. Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator John Thune have largely been able to quash these kinds of resolutions from Democrats in the past, though the unpopularity of this war and the narrow Republican majority in the House could make it difficult to keep this measure from passing. Speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon, the House minority leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, projected optimism that their new war powers resolution will pass with the support of a small number of Republicans. Congressman Thomas Massie already supports the resolution, meaning that if all Democrats vote for the measure, they would only need two additional GOP votes in order to succeed. “We’re going to force another war powers vote upon our return to Washington, D.C.,” Mr. Jeffries said at a press conference. “We’re in active conversations with Republicans to secure an additional handful of our Republican colleagues — which is all we will need — to join House Democrats in stopping this reckless war of choice.”War powers resolutions can be brought to the floor at a rapid pace without the support of either the speaker or the Senate majority leader in the respective chambers, meaning members will be forced to go on the record on this military action. If the resolution were to pass both the House and Senate, it would almost certainly be vetoed by the president, though vulnerable lawmakers would still likely be subject to campaign attacks in the upcoming midterms. “Why in the world would House Republicans … continue to support this reckless war of choice that is deeply unpopular with their own constituents?” Mr. Jeffries asked rhetorically. He specifically named House Republicans from his home state of New York, Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis and Congressman Mike Lawler, as individuals who should be on board with Democrats’ war powers resolution. Nearly 100 Democrats in Congress have so far called for Mr. Trump to be removed from office, either via impeachment and conviction, or the 25th Amendment, which would require Vice President JD Vance and a majority of the cabinet members to inform Congress that the president is incapable of performing his duties. When asked about impeachment on Thursday, Mr. Jeffries did not say whether or not he supported such a move. “We’ll have a conversation led by … Judiciary Committee Democrats tomorrow about Trump administration accountability,” Mr. Jeffries said. “I don’t wanna get out ahead of that discussion.”Mr. Jeffries has been a staunch advocate of putting the war powers resolution on the floor since it was introduced last month. On Thursday, Democrats went so far as to try to pass the measure by unanimous consent in the House during a pro forma session, which is a brief convening of the House — usually lasting just a few seconds — where no business is done. A number of Democrats went to the floor to try to seek recognition during that session on Thursday. The presiding officer, Congressman Chris Smith, refused to recognize his Democratic colleagues who were shouting at him from their side of the aisle. As he declared the House was out of session, Mr. Smith — the longest-serving sitting member of the House — glared at his Democratic colleagues and slammed the gavel down, clearly irate.

House Democrats Promise Iran War Powers Vote as Soon as Recess Ends

House Democrats Promise Iran War Powers Vote as Soon as Recess Ends

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