[ad_1]
rssfeeds.usatoday.com
WASHINGTON – The House passed legislation Thursday to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to launch a military strike against Iran amid a heated debate over his decision to kill a powerful Iranian general.
The House will try to further curb Trump’s war powers in a second vote Thursday to repeal the 2002 law that authorized the Iraq war waged by then-President George W. Bush, which has been used as justification for other U.S. military operations.
Democrats argued the votes were vital to reining in what they see as a reckless and impulsive president, pointing to his decision to authorize a U.S. drone strike that killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on Jan. 2.
Trump has taken the U.S. “to the brink of war with an assassination of a foreign leader, without any imminent threat demonstrated, only double-talk,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas. “It is time to put the brakes on his dangerous pursuits.”
Republicans warned the two House bills would tie the president’s hands at a perilous moment. And they applauded Trump’s decision to target Soleimani, saying he was a terrorist with American blood on his hands.
“The president’s not trying to start a war with Iran,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “In fact, he’s shown incredible restraint against Iran, after they shot down our drone” and attacked a Saudi oil field.
He said Democrats did not object when former President Barack Obama conducted “thousands of unauthorized strikes in Libya,” and said it was “hypocritical and dangerous” for Democrats to limit Trump’s powers to respond to “the very real and growing threats that Iran and its proxies pose.”
In the first House vote, lawmakers approved a bill that would block Trump from using any federal funds for “unauthorized military force against Iran.” The final tally was 228-to-175.
Lawmakers will now turn to a second bill to repeal the 2002 law that authorized the Iraq war.
The Trump administration said the 2002 Iraq war law gave the president the authority to target Soleimani. The Trump and Obama administrations have also cited the 2002 law as justification for military strikes outside of Iraq – including in Yemen and Syria.
Rep. Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the 2002 measure has been “misused time and time and time again.” He said Thursday’s vote would send a clear message to Trump and future presidents.
“We’re saying today there’s no blank check for war,” Engel said.
Both bills will face stiff opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate. Trump could also veto both measures.
Live impeachment updates:Trump Senate impeachment trial to resume with final questions
Trump blasted the two measures on Wednesday.
“With Votes in the House tomorrow, Democrats want to make it harder for Presidents to defend America, and stand up to, as an example, Iran,” the president wrote on Twitter. “Protect our GREAT COUNTRY!”
.”
What did senators ask?:Here are questions senators asked during Trump’s impeachment trial
While the 2002 law authorized the war against then-Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, it also identified Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations operating in Iraq as threats against the United States.
The Senate is also poised to debate Trump’s war-making powers, although perhaps not until the Trump impeachment trial has concluded.
What are senators thinking?:Senators’ questions at Trump impeachment trial show most minds are made up
[ad_2]
Source link