House approves amendment requiring Trump to obtain congressional approval for Iran strike
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
The House of Representatives has just passed its defense bill with an amendment requiring President Trump to receive approval from Congress before launching a military strike against Iran, The New York Times reports.
With a 251-170 vote, the amendment was added onto the House's defense bill, which subsequently passed; the measure received support from most Democrats as well as 27 Republicans, including Trump-ally Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). The amendment has a self-defense exception, The Washington Post reports.
The House's vote comes weeks after Trump said he ordered a strike on Iran following the downing of a U.S. drone but called it off with 10 minutes to spare after deciding that this response would not be "proportionate." Trump has asserted that he does not need the approval from Congress to strike Iran, telling The Hill last month, "I do like keeping them abreast, but I don't have to do it legally."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Although this amendment was approved for the House's version of the defense bill on Friday, the Times writes that the Senate will likely be looking to remove this provision after a similar amendment failed in the Republican-controlled chamber last month. "The president made it absolutely clear that he is not interested in starting a war with Iran," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as that measure failed, per the Times. "Everybody ought to take a deep breath." Trump earlier this week threatened to veto the House's defense bill.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Democrats push for ICE accountabilityFeature U.S. citizens shot and violently detained by immigration agents testify at Capitol Hill hearing
-
The price of sporting gloryFeature The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics kicked off this week. Will Italy regret playing host?
-
Fulton County: A dress rehearsal for election theft?Feature Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is Trump's de facto ‘voter fraud’ czar
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
