The House approved a resolution on Thursday to force the president to halt military action against Iran without Congressional authorization, restarting conversations on the role of Congress in war. Lawmakers voted largely along party lines, with the final vote tallied 224-194. Eight Democrats voted against the resolution and three Republicans voted in favor.
The bill, introduced by Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin, limits the president’s war-making power by requiring the president to seek an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) before possibly taking the U.S. into a war with Iran.
An aide to the congresswoman told Cheddar the bill aims to limit the president’s ability to wage such a conflict without consulting Congress.
“If our loved ones are going to be sent to fight in any protracted war, the President owes the American people a public conversation about why and for what ends,” Slotkin said in a press release.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a press conference earlier Thursday, before the vote, that the justification the White House used to justify the strike against Iran’s top military leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani was “foggy.” Slotkin noted Soleimani “was the architect of some of the worst destabilizing activities in the Middle East. But his behavior does not mean that the Administration can disregard the Constitution by engaging in a wider war, without consulting first with Congress.”
Democrats and at least two Republican senators have been publically skeptical of the administration’s justification for the drone strike, which has rotated between the contention the administration was preventing an “imminent threat,” that Iran was “looking to blow up our embassy,” and that Soleimani’s actions in the past were rationalization enough for the strike. The Trump administration has not explicitly offered a public legal justification but seems to indicate the rationale is based in the 2001 or 2002 AUMF measures that supported the War on Terror and the war in Iraq, respectively.
Under the War Powers Act of 1973, the president is supposed to brief Congress within 48 hours of an unauthorized executive military action. Lawmakers were not satisfied with the White House’s decision not to speak with Congress before the attack.
After Senators were finally briefed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and CIA Director Gina Haspel five days after the attack, Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) joined Democrats in questioning the administration's strategy and raising concerns about its justifications. Both Republicans have indicated they would back a Senate version of the House resolution, with Lee saying the briefing was “insulting and demeaning to the Constitution of the United States.”
According to the resolution, a version of which was introduced to the GOP-controlled Senate by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, the president must end the use of U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran unless formally authorized by Congress or if there is an “imminent armed attack upon the United States.” Lee’s press secretary confirmed he would vote for Kaine’s resolution but also supported the strike against Soleimani. Senator Mitt Romney confirmed he spoke to Kaine about the resolution, but did not yet support it. If Lee and Paul indeed voted for the resolution, Democrats would still need two more Republican votes to pass it in the Senate.
House Democrats voted using a concurrent resolution rather than a joint resolution, as the president is never presented with a concurrent resolution to sign. A concurrent resolution is simply enacted once the House and the Senate vote to approve it.
Going into election day on Tuesday, many of us had an inkling it might not be a great day for Democrats. History tells us the president's party tends to lose congressional seats, governorships and state legislature seats in off-year and midterm elections. Tuesday turned out to be a big wake-up call for democrats. Not only did Terry McAuliffe lose in the Virginia governor's race, Gov. Phil Murphy won re-election by an incredibly slim margin. Both races saw continued Democratic losses in rural areas and a shift of suburban voters back to the GOP. Liz Landers, chief political correspondent at Vice News, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Week one of UN climate summit is coming to an end, world leaders made a number of promises to save the planet. President Biden attended the first two days of the meeting.
Alan Neuhauser, vice president of Silverline Communications, joined Cheddar Politics to talk more about the pledges that came out from the summit and their significance.
It's been a busy week for the Supreme Court. It heard arguments on three of the most watched cases in the docket for this term. The court heard arguments in two cases challenging the Texas abortion law on Monday - one filed by abortion providers and the other by the justice department. Instead of weighing in on the constitutionality of the matter itself, justices focused on the unusual structure of the law that enables citizens to enforce the law, not the state government.
On Wednesday, the court heard arguments in the biggest Second Amendment case in more than a decade. The dispute is over a New York gun law that requires people seeking a license to carry a handgun in public to show a "proper cause." The challengers in this case claim the law inhibits their constitutional Second Amendment rights.
Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSBlog, joined Cheddar Politics to break the cases down.
This is the first installment of Cheddar Changemakers, where we spotlight young activists making a difference in the world and speaking up on issues regarding mental health, voting, and climate change.
Republicans are considered, and often act like, the party opposed to action on climate change. They've made a point of fighting even modest regulations on businesses related to stemming the worst effects of climate change. But Republicans aren't a monolith on climate change, and our next guest reminds us that "conservation" and "conservative" have the same word root.
Quill Robinson, VP of government affairs at the American Conservation Coalition, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss his plans to get an increase in the city's police budget for more personnel, changes to public safety response, and more body cameras. The Democratic mayor addressed the growth in violent crimes amid the pandemic, but noted the need for officers who take their roles seriously. We want officers who understand that policing is an important responsibility, it's a high calling," he said. "We also want a police bureau that is accountable and responsible to the public it serves."
More American tech companies continue to pull their businesses out of China as the Communist Party cracks down on firms — both foreign and domestic. Yahoo and Fortnite have become the latest companies to withdraw from the country, and the withdrawals come just days after Microsoft announced it would take LinkedIn offline. Shehzad Qazi, managing director at China Beige Book International, joined Cheddar to provide some insight into how the crackdowns in China would also impact the tech companies at home in the United States.
A new report out by the Center for Countering Digital Hate shows how just ten publishers are responsible for the bulk of climate change misinformation on social media--and companies like Facebook and Google are making money off them. Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, joined Cheddar to discuss.
'The Good Liars' are Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, a comedy duo that's been shaking up the political world for years. They're out with a new mockumentary, 'The Supporters,' following the 2020 election. Jason Selvig & Davram Stiefler, Stunt Comedians and creators of 'The Good Liars' joined Cheddar News to discuss.
