House Democrats are preparing a powerful rebuke of President Donald Trump as they attempt to rein in his war powers amid sharply growing tensions with Iran.
Democrats — fuming at Trump’s decision to kill one of Iran’s top generals without notifying Congress — will vote this week on a resolution to restrain Trump’s military actions in one of the House’s first acts after returning from the lengthy Christmas recess.
“We have the actual power to stop these wars and it’s important to make that point so people don’t think that Congress is somehow powerless,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who has been a leading voice on efforts to limit Trump’s authority to bypass Congress on foreign conflicts.
“We would be powerless if we didn’t get the majority, but the country gave us the majority in the House of Representatives,” he added.
The resolution is expected to easily pass the House as early as Wednesday, with nearly every Democrat likely to support it. Adoption will force a vote on the Senate floor in the coming days, because it is privileged. Democrats hope it will pose a tough loyalty test for Republicans, who were also mostly blindsided by Trump’s strike.
But the House and Senate GOP are likely to remain largely united on the floor, with many across the party rallying around Trump’s slaying of a man linked to the deaths of hundreds of Americans.
Senate Democrats will need at least four Republicans to join them if all 47 caucus members vote for the resolution. Such a break would mark a repudiation of Trump as he gears up for his reelection campaign and an impeachment trial in the Senate.