Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Wednesday announced the House of Representatives' plans to vote on a War Powers Resolution which would prevent President Donald Trump from taking further action against Iran. The vote is scheduled for Thursday.
According to Pelosi, President Trump "endangered our servicemembers, diplomats and others by risking a serious escalation of tensions with Iran" when he ordered the airstrike that killed Iranian Qud Force General Qasem Soleimani.
The Speaker said it's obvious Trump "does not have a coherent strategy to keep the American people safe, achieve de-escalation with Iran and ensure stability in the region" and said Congress has "serious, urgent concerns about the Administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy moving forward."
House Democrats decided to move forward with the plan after President Trump's briefing on Wednesday, saying the president failed to prove there was an imminent threat from Soleimani.
The resolution that's being considered would require Trump to receive congressional approval before making any future military moves relating to Ukraine. But that's not all they're considering.
“The House may also soon consider additional legislation on the Floor to keep America safe. This legislation includes Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s resolution to repeal the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) and Congressman Ro Khanna’s legislation to prohibit funding for military action against Iran not authorized by Congress," Pelosi said.
It's unclear how many Republicans, if any, will support the resolution. Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) said they would support a similar bill in the Senate, POLITICO reported.
Even though the Democrats believe this would have a significant impact, it really won't. This bill is a concurrent resolution. Under law, a concurrent resolution is not sent to the president to sign, meaning it "does not have the force of law."
As Huffington Post reporter Matt Fuller noted, this is essentially a press release. It's nothing more than a public relations stunt.
Interestingly, the House resolution constraining Trump's war powers is a concurrent resolution, not a joint resolution, meaning it won't carry the force of law. It's more like a press release.
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 8, 2020
Basically, it's an admission that this is not getting GOP support in the Senate.