House Passes Iran War Powers Resolution - The Thursday AM Quickie 6/4/26
Donald Trump's Twitter DMs have gone missing. Has anyone asked Elon Musk? I'd bet he can dig them out of a closet somewhere in no time. - Corey
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6/4: Emma will be hosting solo. The guests will be Noah Kulwin and Brendan James, hosts of the Blowback podcast, discussing their new miniseries on America's relationship with Israel.
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Today you'll read about how Bernie Sanders picked the winners in Tuesday's primary elections, the latest Donald Trump appointee to be linked to Jeffrey Epstein, and the big union victory for adjuncts and other faculty at USC.
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THE BIG NEWS
House Vote Could Eventually Force Trump to End Iran War
After months of effort and four attempts, the House voted yesterday on a war powers resolution that could, with more successful votes on subsequent measures, force Donald Trump to end his illegal, pointless, costly, and destructive war on Iran. Yesterday's vote was 215-208, with four Republicans joining Democrats to exercise Congress's Constitutional authority over matters of war and peace. According to the Associated Press, cheers erupted in the House chamber when the votes were counted.
"We are trapped in a war that won't end because an incompetent president launched it thinking of only his own ego while failing to prepare for the consequences," New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said during the floor debate, per the Washington Post. "Diplomacy is the only exit from this, not more bombing, not more bluster."
Republicans who held the line for Trump's war echoed his Putin-esque argument that despite the Special Military Operation, nothing out of the ordinary is happening in the Middle East right now. "We are not in hostilities," Florida GOP Rep. Brian Mast, chair of Foreign Affairs, said.
Many steps remain before Congress can move to end the war. The House measure now moves to the Senate, where it may not even receive a vote -- and if it does, it may fail. But if the Senate does pass a war powers resolution, the House will need to vote again on the Senate version. If that passes, and a bill moves to Trump's desk, he will surely veto it, which can only be overridden with a two-thirds vote of the House.
The most significant outcome of yesterday's vote may be the political lessons it contains: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Get the bastards on the record. And don't cede power without a fight.
"The House finally had the political willpower to stand up to the president’s unconstitutional war," says Alix Fraser of Issue One. "Americans should celebrate this massive victory, but have every right to feel frustrated that it took this long for Congress to work on behalf of the people. That must change. Our democracy will not survive if Congress fails to uphold its responsibility to check executive power at this critical juncture."