(Washington Stand) Late Tuesday night, the House forced Washington to confront a question it has spent decades avoiding: who owns an American war?
On September 15, the House voted 220-204 for H. Con. Res. 93, directing President Trump, under Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress authorizes their continued use. Democrats voted 213-0 for it. Republicans voted 203-7 against it.
That partisan split is not the story.
That pattern is hardly unique to Trump. Members of Congress have often interpreted presidential war powers more generously when the president belongs to their own party and more narrowly when he does not.