The Wall Street Journal is out with a provocative piece as to why House Leader Mike Johnson had to abruptly send Congress into an earlier than expected Memorial Day recess — to postpone a required vote on a privileged war-powers resolution introduced by Gregory Meeks (D-NY) that the Johnson was certain to lose. House Republicans pull vote to limit Trump’s Iran war powers

House Republican leaders yanked a planned vote to restrict President Trump’s ability to conduct military strikes against Iran, after it became clear that the resolution, forced to the floor by Democrats, would likely pass.

“You don’t have the votes!” Democrats shouted in a heated moment on the House floor, when Republicans moved to delay the vote until after lawmakers return from a weeklong Memorial Day recess.

Passage would have been seen as a rebuke of Trump and the war he started without seeking authorization from Congress. Opinion polls show most Americans are opposed to the war, which has led to rising energy costs and disrupted global supply chains. Trump and his allies have defended the war as necessary to deny Iran a nuclear weapon.

Since U.S. hostilities against Iran began in late February, House Democrats had tried and failed three times to check Trump’s war powers by forcing votes on similar resolutions. Last week, one such effort failed in a tie, 212-212. This time, Democrats believed they had the votes to succeed by peeling off a handful of Republicans.

…

On Tuesday, the Senate advanced a similar-war powers resolution after Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) voted in favor, just days after GOP primary voters ousted him at Trump’s urging. A vote on final passage of the resolution is expected when senators return from holiday recess early next month.

This is of course merely another bit of political theater, since even if (when) a war-powers resolution passes in both the Senate and House, the current occupant of the White House will simply veto or ignore it, and we’re still a very long way from rounding up sufficient Republican votes to override such a presidential veto.

Still, every bit of forward progress helps make it increasingly clear to our authoritarian overlords that the American people are definitely not on board with this increasingly idiotic and counterproductive military misadventure.

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