- GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida came out in strong support of the House of Representatives' War Powers Resolution on Thursday.
- The measure would dramatically curtail President Donald Trump's power to take further military action against Iran and comes after Trump ordered an airstrike that killed Iran's Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani without notifying Congress.
- Gaetz on Thursday emphasized that he supported Trump's decision but also believed Congress has a say in "matters of war and peace."
- "I represent more troops than any other member of this body," Gaetz said. "I buried one of them earlier today at Arlington. That sergeant died a patriot and a hero. If the members of our armed services have the courage to go and fight and die in these wars, as Congress, we ought to have the courage to vote for or against them."
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Republican congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida came out Thursday in support of a War Powers Resolution that would dramatically curtail President Donald Trump's power to take further military action against Iran.
His announcement comes days after the Trump administration announced that the president had ordered an airstrike last week that killed Iran's Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the most powerful military official in the country and a widely revered figure within the Iranian regime.
Trump's drone strike set off a series of escalatory actions from both Washington and Tehran and stoked fears that the US was about to get involved in another war in the Middle East. On Wednesday, however, Trump signaled the de-escalation of the matter and indicated that the US would not retaliate after Iran fired off several missiles at a US base in Iraq that resulted in no American casualties.
"I represent more troops than any other member of this body," Gaetz said in a statement on the floor of the House of Representatives, which will vote Thursday on the War Powers Resolution.
He added: "I buried one of them earlier today at Arlington. That sergeant died a patriot and a hero. If the members of our armed services have the courage to go and fight and die in these wars, as Congress, we ought to have the courage to vote for or against them."
Gaetz is a staunch ally of the president but has broken with him on issues related to national security and climate change.
On Thursday, he specified that his vote for the War Powers Resolution did not represent a criticism of the president himself, but support for Congress' duty to have a say in military and national-security matters.
"I take a backseat to no member of this body when it comes to defending the president," Gaetz said. "This resolution offers no criticism of the president. It doesn't criticize the president's attack on Soleimani. As a matter of fact, this resolution doesn't even say Soleimani's name in it."
"I think it's ludicrous to suggest that we are impairing the troops from doing their job by not doing our job articulated in the Constitution to speak to these matters of war and peace," Gaetz added. "I support the president. Killing Soleimani was the right decision, but engaging in another forever war in the Middle East would be the wrong decision, and that's why I'm voting for this resolution."
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