Democrats Dismiss GOP Call to Condemn Iranian Aggression, Praise American Troops

House Democrats rejected a motion that would have praised the American military and reaffirmed the House’s opposition to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.

Democrats just moved to advance the previous question H. Res. 781, which provided the rule for considering H. Con. Res. 83. H. Con. Res. 83 is the War Powers resolution calling for the United States to terminate hostilities with Iran.

By advancing the previous question on H. Res. 781, House Democrats rejected a request from Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and Michael Burgess (R-TX) to commend America’s military, praise the intelligence community’s actions in disrupting Soleimani’s actions in the Middle East, and reaffirming the House’s commitment to disrupting, dismantling, and defeating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force and affiliated groups.

On the House floor Thursday, Rep. Crenshaw said that they should move to “honor the hard work and dedication of the men and women who made the precision strike on Qasem Soleimani possible.” He added:

This is interesting crossroads we find ourselves in. After the successful response against the escalating aggression from the world’s most active and deadly terrorist Qasem Soleimani our great country has found itself divided and unsure of itself.

Crenshaw said that House Democrat leadership has been “sourcing” “division” based upon President Trump’s strike on Soleimani.

FLOOR ALERT: @HouseDemocrats just BLOCKED @HouseGOP's request to honor the bravery & skill of our military & intelligence for ridding the world of a dangerous terrorist responsible for killing HUNDREDS of Americans! @michaelcburgess @RepDanCrenshaw @RepKinzinger @RepMichaelWaltz pic.twitter.com/tf86KhlRYD

— House Rules Republicans (@RulesReps) January 9, 2020

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) criticized House Democrats’ move to limit the president’s ability to respond to Iranian aggression with a War Powers Act resolution.

Leader McCarthy said on the House floor Thursday that Democrats “who criticize President Trump for Iran’s dangerous foreign policy should review their history. It is Iran who is responsible for escalating tensions by creating chaos to spread fear and accumulate power.”

If President Trump’s instinct is to put America first, Democrats' instinct is to BLAME America first. https://t.co/AZfA5DXT5g

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) January 9, 2020

Rep. McCarthy continued, “If President Trump’s instinct is to put America first, his critics’ instinct is to blame America first…Now they want to limit the President’s ability to defend America. This is dangerous.”

The California conservative said that the Democrats War Powers resolution is non-binding, so the bill “has as much force of law as a New Year’s resolution.”

Rep. McCarthy said that “not liking President Trump is not an excuse for failing to see that this President and his Administration have a sensible — and deeply American — strategy for dealing with Iran.”

Read the GOP resolution here.