Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) saved President Donald Trump again from a House defeat Thursday, as the lone Democrat to vote against legislation restricting the commander in chief’s ability to wage war with Iran.
Golden, who is retiring from Congress after this term, was the only House Democrat to vote against a war powers resolution by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). The measure deadlocked in a 212-212 vote. Under the House rules, a tie effectively means the legislation fails.
With Republicans holding a razor-thin majority, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) could afford to lose only two GOP votes before needing Democratic support. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Tom Barrett (R-MI) backed limiting Trump’s war powers, making Golden’s vote decisive.
The Maine Democrat indicated Wednesday that he would vote for a “clean” resolution, which Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) has already introduced and could come up for a vote as soon as next week. With the three Republican “yes” votes, his support could push the measure across the finish line in the House.
“President Trump, like all his predecessors, has refused to recognize the limitations of the War Powers Act, but to me the law is clear,” Golden wrote Wednesday. “His window for unilateral military engagement has closed. Hostilities, including the use of the U.S. fleet to impose a blockade of Iranian ports, cannot legally continue unless the president seeks, and wins, Congressional approval.”
The defections also underscored slipping Republican support for Trump’s handling of the Iran conflict. In a similar vote last month, only Massie broke with the White House. Thursday’s vote tripled the number of GOP defections and forced Republican leadership to once again rely on Golden to prevent an embarrassing rebuke of Trump from his own party.
Even if the resolution cleared the House, it likely wouldn’t have gotten the 60 votes necessary in the Senate, where similar efforts have repeatedly failed. Regardless, Trump could still veto it even if it passed Congress.
Thursday’s result mirrored what happened last month when the House considered a war powers resolution on the Iran conflict. Golden’s opposition was key then as well.
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Yet Thursday’s vote was also a bigger test of Trump’s war powers because the conflict with Iran has already pushed past the 60-day mark. The 1973 War Powers Resolution limits a president’s unilateral military action to 60 days before having to seek authorization from Congress. The law does allow the president to grant himself a one-time 30-day extension with limitations on offensive operations.
The White House has argued that the conflict, which started on Feb. 28, has yet to reach the threshold because of a ceasefire that is in place with Iran.