Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said on Monday that U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-08) will be leading the bid to restrict President Trump’s power in Iran, several days after an airstrike killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Soleimani led the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. He was killed in a U.S. military attack on Friday.
Pelosi announced the “War Powers Resolution” in a letter to House Democrats on Sunday. The resolution is slotted to be introduced and voted on this week, according to Pelosi.
“It reasserts Congress’s long-established oversight responsibilities by mandating that if no further Congressional action is taken, the administration’s military hostilities with regard to Iran cease within 30 days,” Pelosi said.
The Speaker of the House also noted Slotkin’s experience as a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst who specialized in Shia militias. The representative was of one of four Michigan Democrats and one independent to criticize the military strike, according to The Detroit News.
“What always kept both Democratic and Republican presidents from targeting Soleimani himself was the simple question: Was the strike worth the likely retaliation, and the potential to pull us into protracted conflict? The two administrations I worked for both determined that the ultimate ends didn’t justify the means. The Trump Administration has made a different calculation,” Slotkin said in a statement on Friday.
Slotkin also critiqued Trump for not coming to Congress before enacting the strike.
“This Administration, like all others, has the right to act in self-defense,” Slotkin said. “But the Administration must come to Congress immediately and consult. If military engagement is going to be protracted — which any informed assessment would consider — the Administration must request an Authorization for the Use of Military Force.”
Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox released a response to Slotkin on Monday.
“Qassem Soleimani was directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. service members, and since 2013 he has conducted a clandestine war against the United States and our allies,” Cox said in a statement. “By trying to limit President Trump’s powers to deal with such terrorists, Nancy Pelosi and Elissa Slotkin are sending a dangerous message to our enemies overseas and turning their backs on the victims Soleimani left in his wake.”
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Jordyn Pair is a reporter with Battleground State News and The Michigan Star. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair. Email her at [email protected].
Photo “Speaker Pelosi Announcement” by Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
