Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
House Passes War Powers Resolution on Iran War
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a resolution under the War Powers Act addressing the war of aggression in Iran. On a vote of 215-208, the House directed the president to end the war. That vote is largely symbolic as the Senate must approve it as well, and then Congress would have to override a presidential veto. The war is not going to end as a result of this action. However, it does demonstrate the general unpopularity of the war and of the failure to end it.
The resolution came to the floor for a vote as the result of a discharge petition. Usually, nothing comes up for a vote on the floor unless the Speaker of the House puts it there. The discharge petition is a way to circumvent that. If a majority of members sign a discharge petition, the measure automatically goes to the full House for a vote.
The New York Times reported:
Republican Representatives Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky crossed party lines to vote with Democrats in favor of the resolution. Representative Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, who had previously opposed similar measures, switched his position to support it . . . .
Though the few defections were notable, almost every Republican voted against the resolution. Most of them have accepted the Trump administration's claim that the initial operation had concluded and that the most recent strikes in Iran were necessary acts of self-defense, arguing that gave him full power as the commander in chief to order American troops to respond.
The fact of the matter is that the War Powers Act may well be unconstitutional. Passed in 1973 while Mr. Nixon was awash in Watergate, no American president of either party has accepted its legitmacy. The law has never seen the Supreme Court, so there is not any guidance from the judiciary.
The trouble with the War Powers approach is that it sets a high bar when there are easier ways to stop a war. Congress is in charge of spending. Every year, Congress has to pass funding authorizations for the Defense Department. Congress can simply deny the Pentagon any money for such operations. That can happen without a vote; the funds simply are not in the budget that gets passed. No money, no combat.
The act also requires the White House to come to Congress within 60 days of troops being committed to combat for an endorsement of the move. The Trump administration started this war about 100 days ago, but because there is a ceasefire of sorts in place, the argument is the clock on the 60-day time limit is stopped. This is not true, but it does help muddy the waters over this whole affair.
What is important about this vote is that all but 4 Republican members voted not to rein in the administration. The war belongs to them politically now, not just the administration. If the war ends without any further fighting and dying (at least among Americans), that may not matter much when people vote in November. However, there is no guarantee that the fighting has stopped. Neither side seems anxious to re-engage on the battlefield, but neither will yield just yet. All it takes is a mistake by someone on either side.
Meanwhile, the oil markets are increasingly behaving like the war has ended. The fact is no P&I Club in London is writing insurance for Persian Gulf shipping. That means no oil will move until the war officially ends. Prices are not too awful for consumers yet, but this month the oil industry reaches operational stress levels that will affect the market qualitatively. JP MorganChase says that of the 8.4 billion barrels of crude and refined products in reserve, only about 800 million barrels are realistically accessible without triggering pipeline pressures. This is the month the 800 million runs out.
Only a fool is short oil these days.
© Copyright 2026 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
|
|
|
