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WASHINGTON (AP) .— The House of Representatives will vote on Thursday on a resolution regarding whether to grant President Donald Trump powers to wage war against Iran.
This signals concern in Congress over the conflict. This conflict is disrupting U.S. priorities both domestically and abroad.
This is the second vote in as many days, after the Senate defeated a similar measure along party lines.
Lawmakers face the sudden reality of representing the American people in wartime. This involves lives lost, dollars spent, and alliances strained by the president’s unilateral decision to go to war with Iran.
The House vote is expected to be close, but the outcome will offer a glimpse into the political support for the military operation.
Furthermore, it will reveal Trump’s determination to circumvent Congress, which alone has the power to declare war.
Not a King
“Donald Trump is not a king, and if he believes war with Iran is in our national interest, then he must come to Congress and make his case,” stated Representative Gregory Meeks.
Meeks is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The votes are an illuminating moment for the president and for the parties, just days after the conflict began, quickly echoing the long previous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Many veterans of those wars have run for public office and now serve in Congress.
The Republican Party, which narrowly controls the House and Senate, largely views the conflict with Iran not as the start of a new war, but as the end of a regime that for decades has threatened the West.
