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The Democratic-led House of Representatives on Thursday evening backed legislation that would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to wage war on Iran without congressional approval, as three Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the bill.
Trump called the war-powers bill “another Democrat fraud” in a morning tweet, and urged all House Republicans to vote against it.
The vote came amid some Republican discontent with the Trump administration’s justifications for launching an airstrike last week that killed one of the Iran’s top generals, Qassem Soleimani.
Before the House’s action, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida explained why he was among the few GOP members who favored the war-powers resolution.
“I support the president. Killing Soleimani was the right decision. But engaging in another forever war in the Middle East would be the wrong decision, and that’s why I’m voting for this resolution,” Gaetz said on the House floor.
On Wednesday, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said a classified briefing on Soleimani’s death was “insulting and demeaning.” He said it was so bad that he would now vote for a Democratic plan to limit Trump’s war powers against Iran, introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. Trump could veto a bill if passed by both chambers of Congress.
Investors’ jitters over the prospect of war in the Middle East have subsided with Trump’s statement Wednesday that Iran appeared to be “standing down” following strikes on two U.S. bases in Iraq. All three stock-market benchmarks DJIA, +0.74% SPX, +0.67% COMP, +0.81% closed at record highs on Thursday.
Now see: Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq surge to new records as market focus shifts to U.S.-China trade.
In Thursday’s vote, eight Democrats bucked their party and opposed the war-powers resolution.
