TIL Desk/World/Washington/ The US House of Representatives approved a non-binding resolution to remind President Donald Trump of the key role of Congress in approving any military attack abroad, the move being an attempt to circumscribe the power of the White House to unilaterally undertake “military action” against Iran.
In a 224-194 vote, the Democratic majority in the House approved a motion designed to demonstrate lawmakers” unease with the fact that the Trump administration did not notify them prior to the operation on Jan. 3 to stage a deadly drone strike on Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani when he was visiting Baghdad. Eight Democrats opposed the resolution, while three Republicans voted to support it, so it was not a vote that went strictly according to party lines.
To avoid an expected Trump veto, Democratic legislators used a legal formula known as a “concurrent resolution” that will be considered approved once both chambers of Congress ratify it but does not require the signature of the president, and thus cannot become law. “Members of Congress have serious, urgent concerns about the administration”s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy moving forward,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had said in a statement prior to the vote on the resolution.
