Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives mostly aligned with Republicans to defeat a war powers resolution aimed at prohibiting U.S. forces from engaging in any hostile actions in Lebanon.
On Tuesday, the House voted 189-235 against the resolution that had backing from Democrats. Only two Republicans voted in favor of it, while 22 Democrats opposed it.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib from Michigan introduced the resolution, which is mostly symbolic and would not reach President Trump’s desk even if it had passed.
As the only Palestinian-American in Congress, Tlaib is known for her criticisms of Israel, even accusing it of committing “ethnic cleansing in Gaza and Lebanon.” Interestingly, her resolution doesn’t specifically mention Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed group currently embroiled in conflict with Israel.
Republican members expressed their opposition to the bill, arguing that the U.S. isn’t officially at war in Lebanon, despite the country’s involvement in ongoing negotiations with Iran.
Brian Mast, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, stated during the discussion on the floor that “there are no U.S. combat forces operating or engaging in hostilities in Lebanon.” He added, “They are training the Lebanese army.”
Mast continued, questioning, “Why are they training?” noting the presence of around 40,000 Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon who have long targeted Israel.
The House also turned down another Lebanon War Powers resolution from Tlaib, which was introduced in early June and faced opposition from 117 Democrats at that time.
During that earlier debate, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries noted that “no U.S. military personnel are currently involved in combat operations or hostilities in Lebanon,” although he supported the resolution proposed on Tuesday.
Recently, the Trump administration along with Israel and Lebanon has established a framework to tackle Iranian influence in Lebanon through its support of Hezbollah, which would also encourage Israel to withdraw troops from its current deployment area.
The tripartite statement indicated, “For Lebanon, this framework offers a real path out of a protracted crisis. For Israel, it creates a verifiable path to eliminating the persistent threat on its northern border.”
