An effort to bar President Donald Trump from aiding Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon led by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) split the Democratic caucus Thursday over concerns about how the text was drafted.
The measure, which failed 92-324, was supported by a coalition of progressive Democrats and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a Trump critic who opposes military action abroad.
House Democratic leadership, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), opposed the measure, exposing a rift between leadership and progressive members. Ultimately, 117 Democrats joined 205 Republicans in voting against the measure.
“As demonstrated yesterday, House Democrats are committed to ending Donald Trump’s reckless and costly war of choice in Iran,” Democratic leadership wrote in the statement. “We also do not support any effort by the Trump administration to entangle the United States in a war in Lebanon or other parts of the Middle East.”
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) asserted the resolution would have “put U.S. embassy personnel at risk and interfere with our efforts to fight terrorism across the globe.”
“The small number of U.S. forces stationed in Lebanon are there to protect our embassy in Beirut, assist with Lebanon’s military training and readiness, and help Lebanon prevent Hezbollah, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda-linked violence so that innocent civilians may have the opportunity to live in peace,” Stevens wrote in a statement.
Just a few hours before the vote, leadership threw their support behind a second measure introduced by Tlaib on Wednesday, vowing to work with her to grow Democratic support for the measure.
Still, Tlaib urged her peers to support Thursday’s legislation, insisting “the people of Lebanon can’t wait another month for Congress to act.”
“Every day that we do nothing, 11 more Lebanese children are killed or injured by the Israeli military in this U.S.-supported invasion. Congress must pass today’s Lebanon War Powers Resolution,” she said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who voted yes, said she believes there is “tremendous urgency for us to check the administration’s overreach in the region writ large, as well as preventing, as we’ve seen, the Israeli government dragging US forces into an escalated conflict that I believe is not only not in our interest but not in the world’s interest.”
She continued, “So I was, of course, supportive of the resolution, and I hope that we’ll be able to get to a place where we can pass.”
Jeffries told the Washington Examiner ahead of the vote that leadership was going to work with Tlaib and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) on her latest measure “to garner as much support and get it over the finish line.”
All of this comes after House Democrats successfully passed a war powers resolution on Iran on Wednesday, with the help of four Republicans.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) told the Washington Examiner, “The United States is not at war with Lebanon, nor is there any indication that we’re going to war with Lebanon, so it’s an unnecessary war powers vote.
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“We don’t have troops there,” said Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH), another no vote.
With no U.S. troops in Lebanon as of Thursday, it is unlikely any measure would receive enough Republican support to pass it out of the House.
