Trump is angry about the rebellion because of the war in Iran: “It will not end well”

• The leadership of the Republican Party in the US House of Representatives canceled at the last minute a vote intended to limit President Trump’s war powers in Iran.
• The dramatic repeal was carried out after Republicans realized they did not have the majority to defeat the bill, which had been promoted by Democrats.
• Several Republican members of Congress planned to “rebell” and cross the lines, which would have led to the passage of the law and dealt a severe political blow to the president.
• To avoid the embarrassing loss, Republicans froze an otherwise routine vote for 45 minutes to buy time and pressure members of their own party.
• The day before, President Trump even publicly threatened one of the unruly lawmakers from his party, saying that a vote against him “will not end well.”
• Why it matters: The event exposes significant fissures within Trump’s party and a growing uneasiness in Congress over the continued conduct of the war in Iran without official approval from elected officials.

Embarrassment for Trump: A significant political drama unfolded in the American House of Representatives, revealing a deep disagreement at the top of the administration regarding the continuation of the war against Iran. The leadership of the Republican Party, which holds the majority in the House of Representatives and manages the agenda of the debates, was forced to carry out an unusual postponement move and at the last minute canceled a fateful vote in the plenum after realizing that it did not have the necessary majority to overturn the initiative.

The vote in question, promoted by the rival Democratic Party, was intended to impose legal limits on the White House and curb President Donald Trump’s military powers in the Iran campaign. If the law were to pass, it would be the first time that Congress has officially and publicly expressed no confidence in Trump’s war management, and this after a series of previous Democratic attempts have failed.

Although the decision is largely declarative and symbolic, as the president has veto power over it, its public significance is considered a severe political blow to the administration.

To understand the intensity of the panic among the leaders of the Republican Party, one must look at the delicate balance of power in the American Parliament. The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has a very narrow majority, and can only afford a small handful of defections when the House is in full attendance. Minutes before the end of the deadline, it became clear to the party leaders that their majority had been completely wiped out: four members of Congress from Trump’s party (Brian Fitzpatrick, Thomas Massey, Warren Davidson and Tom Barrett) decided to cross the lines and support the law of The Democrats.

At the same time, a Democratic congressman, who traditionally supported the president on this issue, decided to change his position and vote against him. Due to the absence of several other Republican lawmakers, the law to limit the president was almost certain to pass.

To prevent the political discrimination, the Republicans took advantage of their exclusive control over the technical management of the plenary and resorted to tactics. Before the legislators had time to vote on the Iran clause, a routine vote was held on a completely different issue – the establishment of a women’s museum. The party leadership simply refused to lock this vote and left it open for 45 straight minutes. While the clock was ticking, the party leaders tried to apply pressure and threats in the corridors on the “disobedient” party members to change their minds.

When the party leaders realized that the rebel congressmen were standing by their refusal, they used their legal authority, pulled the Iran bill from the agenda and canceled the vote entirely. The move provoked great anger among the Democrats, who sharply criticized the breaking of the rules and called the move a “frightened and despicable retreat”.

The internal opposition within Trump’s party stems from the War Powers Act, which states that the president is only allowed to conduct a military campaign abroad for 60 days without express approval from Congress. That time limit has long since passed, and some conservative lawmakers feel growing discomfort that the war with Iran continues without the legal authorization of parliament. Expectations were that the temporary cease-fire agreement reached with Iran would neutralize the The need for approval, as the White House claims, but Congress refused to accept this argument.

The tension came to a head the day before the vote, when President Trump himself directed fire directly at one of his party’s senior lawmakers, Brian Fitzpatrick, who declared he would vote against him. Trump told reporters in a threatening tone: “He likes to vote against Trump. You know what happens in a situation like this? It won’t end well.”

The threatened congressman refused to back down, and provided a statement clarifying the independence of US lawmakers vis-a-vis the White House: “We do not report to any party or any person here in Washington.” Fitzpatrick made it clear that he intends to vote against the president despite the threats.

Currently, the leadership of the Republican Party has managed to “buy time”. They postponed the vote for a week, until after the American Memorial Day break, hoping that by then they would be able to bring back the absent lawmakers, align the party and ensure a majority that would protect the president.