As the House of Representatives passed a resolution with the goal of limiting President Donald Trump’s military actions regarding Iran, three Republican lawmakers joined the Democratic-led House in voting “yes.”
The House passed a War Powers Resolution, H. CON. RES. 83, with a 224 to 194 vote on Thursday, with Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Francis Rooney (R-Fl.) tossing in their support behind it. On the other hand, eight Democratic lawmakers voted “nay” on it.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) noted last Sunday that the resolution was going to be introduced and voted on this week, in response to the U.S. airstrike that killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force. Pelosi also previously denounced Trump’s authorization of the strike and said Congress was left in the dark on it.
In defense of being one of the few Republicans who voted for the resolution, Gaetz told Fox News, “I think this War Powers Resolution is worthy of support because it did not criticize the president.”
He continued:
“It did not say he was wrong in killing Soleimani. But it did say if any president wants to drag our nation into another forever Middle East war, that they require the approval of the United States Congress. That’s something I deeply believe and I think it’s something the president deeply believes.”
See Gaetz’s remarks below:
I spoke to @POTUS today and he told me he’s more anti-war than I am.
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 10, 2020
This resolution did not criticize the president. It said if any president wants to drag our nation into war Congress must approve it.
That’s something I believe and something I think @POTUS deeply believes. pic.twitter.com/pScotpCtO2
Well said. https://t.co/bOkTuRuGVr
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 10, 2020
“This vote isn’t about support or opposing President Trump,” Massie said on the House floor on Thursday.
"If we go to war, it needs to be with the blessing and the support of the people and a clear mission that our soldiers can accomplish. We do that by following the vision of our founding fathers – we debate it on the floor of the House." pic.twitter.com/ByKDVQF5od
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 9, 2020
As a matter of fact, I did introduce this when Obama was President.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 10, 2020
H.R.2507 – “War Powers Protection Act of 2013,” 113th Congress (2013-2014)
Sponsor:Rep. Massie, Thomas [R-KY-4] (Introduced 06/26/2013)https://t.co/hNonDITPaZ https://t.co/GyhYTWOlEd
The president himself also chimed in on the resolution’s passage in the House.
At his rally on Thursday evening, Trump claimed that Democratic lawmakers would have leaked the information if they knew of the airstrike beforehand.
“They’re saying, ‘You should get permission from Congress, you should come in and tell us what you want to do — you should come in and tell us, so that we can call up the fake news that’s back there, and we can leak it,'” the president said, adding, “Lot of corruption back there.”