House Republicans pulled a vote Thursday, through a procedural loophole, that could have reined in President Donald Trump‘s war powers in Iran ahead of Congress‘s Memorial Day recess.
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused GOP leadership of delaying the vote because it was assured passage.
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“What we’ve just seen is how the Republicans are operating,” Meeks, who authored the bill, told reporters. “They like to cheat. They’re not honest with the American people. Here we are on the eve of Memorial Day, with prices for gasoline going up, prices for food going up. We had a vote, because of this president’s war of choice, that was going to pass. We had the votes without question.”
The war powers resolution was pulled after GOP leadership faced several absences ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.
Two prior war powers resolutions came down to Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), who was the only Democratic “no” vote. Last week, Golden signaled he would support the Meeks-authored measure.
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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.
Hailey Bullis contributed to this article.