U.S. Reps. Sam Liccardo and Kevin Mullin both say they will vote for an upcoming war powers resolution that could halt the U.S. military action in Iran that killed the country’s supreme leader over the weekend.
In the House, lawmakers are looking to force a vote on a previously-introduced measure reasserting congressional authority over declarations of war and demanding removal of U.S. armed forces from Iran. On Wednesday, a handful of Democrats have also introduced a more moderate piece of legislation that would require ending military action within 30 days unless Congress authorizes war or further attacks.
While a similar war powers resolution is expected for a vote and debate in the Senate this week, there’s no guarantee that either piece of legislation will pass Congress, and President Trump would also be expected to veto it should the measure reach his desk.
Liccardo, D-San Jose, said he would be voting for the original measure on the principle that all long-term, offensive military operations require congressional approval. He isn’t hopeful, however, that the legislation will pass.
“Regardless of how anyone feels about the war, Congress needs to stand up to its constitutional obligation to be accountable,” Liccardo said. “Do I think that’s going to happen this week? No. I expect that the Republican majority will have the votes to defeat a war powers resolution.”
The broadening conflict in the Middle East — occurring as a result of a joint American-Israeli offensive against key Iranian leaders and military infrastructure — has raised major domestic concerns about the prospect of another long-term Middle East war.
Though senior Trump administration officials insisted the Iran operation is dissimilar to prior wars fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, Trump himself has been vague on the operation’s timeline and if the United States will consider the possibility of deploying boots on the ground.
In a statement, Mullin, D-South San Francisco, acknowledged the current Iranian regime’s repression and terror attacks, but said that the ongoing airstrikes would further destabilize the region. Currently, Iran’s Red Crescent Society is estimating the Iranian death toll at over 700, and six American service members have been killed by Iranian strikes in the region.
“The people of Iran have suffered for decades under an oppressive and deadly regime with a record of state-sponsored terror,” Mullin’s statement read. “However, Trump’s reckless actions have further destabilized the Middle East and innocent civilians on the ground are already being killed in significant numbers. Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. could be engaged in an open-ended ‘forever’ war is not what Americans want.”
Trump’s justification for the military action has largely revolved around the destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities. If Iran was truly imminently about to deploy a nuclear weapon and degrading its nuclear capabilities was imperative, Liccardo said he would be supportive of the U.S. taking military action, a claim he emphasized contradicted even prior allegations by the president that Iran’s nuclear program had been obliterated in strikes last June.
In addition, the American public would be largely unsupportive of the multiyear troop deployment that an actual regime change in Iran would require, Liccardo said. As it stands, he said he was extremely skeptical that the Trump administration’s military offensive would result in lasting, positive change.
“I would speculate that either there’s going to be no significant change in regime, even though the names of a few dozen of the leaders may change, or that we’re going to have an Iran that will devolve into civil war for several years,” he said. “I don’t see how either outcome leaves us any safer.”
The burgeoning conflict also serves as a distraction from Republicans’ increasingly unpopular domestic policy decisions, Mullin said in a statement.
“At a time when American families are concerned with affording health care, managing grocery costs, and ensuring their children have access to quality education, Trump’s reckless and fiscally-irresponsible military escalation distracts from the damage being done at home by Republicans’ disastrous policies,” his statement read.
Mullin also said in the statement that while he favors the previously-introduced resolution because it more fully reasserts congressional authority, he would support whatever war powers resolution that gains enough support to pass. Liccardo added it’s more important than ever that Congress serves as a check to keep the country’s president accountable.
“I am certain the American public has no interest or desire and extended engagement in a ground war, which nearly every military expert will tell you is required for regime change,” Liccardo said. “What is imperative for us as a people is to keep this administration accountable for the outcomes in Iran.”
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