WASHINGTON — A bipartisan pair of House lawmakers is vowing to attempt to force a vote on a resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to take unilateral action in Iran, something he has repeatedly warned could be on the horizon.
“Trump officials say there's a 90% chance of strikes on Iran,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., wrote in a post on X this week. “He can’t without Congress.”
The California Democrat went on to note that he and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., have a proposed war powers resolution — potentially referring to one introduced by the pair in June — and pledged to move forward with seeking to force a vote on it next week.
Massie reposted Khanna’s statement and noted the duo “will be forcing that vote to happen in the House as soon as possible.”
“Congress must vote on war, according to our Constitution,” he added.
The resolution introduced in June would prohibit the president from directing military action to be carried out in Iran without first receiving approval from Congress, although it carves out an exception for a situation in which the U.S. needs to defend itself from an imminent attack.
“Congress hereby directs the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran,” the text of the resolution reads.
Khanna appeared to suggest in his post that the pair would seek to force a vote on it by making “a motion to discharge.” Discharge petitions — which need a majority of House members on board to move forward — allow lawmakers to circumvent the chamber’s leaders and force a vote on certain legislation. Although historically uncommonly used and rarely successful, use of discharge petitions has picked up in recent months. Khanna and Massie in particular were able to require the Justice Department to release its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein through a discharge petition in one of the most high-profile successful examples of the use of one.
Read the rest at Spectrum News.
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