For months, Democrats have forced Republicans to take vote after vote on President Donald Trump’s unpopular war on Iran.
asserted
Democrats → force → Iran
Now those votes could help Democrats retake Congress — and they will immediately have opportunities to follow through on their anti-war rhetoric.
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they → help → rhetoric
Democratic leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York have been cagey about their strategy on Iran for the lame-duck period before the next Congress is sworn in on January 3.
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Congress → swear → January
So far, months of Capitol Hill maneuvering have produced few concrete results.
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months → produce → results
And one path to potential progress for ending the war is laden with risk: threatening a government shutdown.
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path → end → shutdown
Opponents of the war say that, with Democrats pushing for support based on their efforts to end to the war, they owe it to voters to put government spending on the line.
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they → say → line
“It will certainly demonstrate whether Democrats are willing to stretch themselves and put up a fight and get uncomfortable,” said Hannah Morris, the vice president of government affairs for the liberal, pro-Israel group J Street, which opposes the conflict.
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which → demonstrate → conflict
In the months since the conflict began on February 28, Democrats and the handful of Republicans opposed to the war have poured most of their energy into votes based on the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which limits the president’s power to wage war without congressional approval.
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which → begin → approval
In June, they succeeded in securing House and Senate passage of a war powers resolution, but the Trump administration has ignored the vote, arguing the law is unconstitutional.
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law → succeed → vote
Advocates still believe the Trump administration should be bound by the June resolution, but they concede that other paths may have more teeth.
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paths → believe → teeth
If they really want to stop the war, Democrats will have to confront questions of timing, divisions within their own caucus, and the risk of a government shutdown.
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Democrats → want → shutdown
One prime opportunity could be the December 11 expiration of a spending bill called the continuing resolution that has been funding the government since the last shutdown.
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that → call → shutdown
Democrats could attempt to attach a rider to the bill prohibiting the use of any of its funds for the Iran war.
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Democrats → attempt → war
If that bill does not pass both chambers, the government shuts down.
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government → pass → chambers
The process will provide Democrats with rare leverage before the next Congress is sworn in.
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Congress → provide → leverage
Congressional Democratic leaders have not said whether they are willing to risk a shutdown, however.
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they → say → shutdown
Jeffries did not tip his hand when he was asked during a recent interview with CNN.
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he → tip → CNN
“Listen, we’ll deal with the appropriations process when we deal with the appropriations process,” he said.
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he → listen → process
“Right now, the mechanism that is in front of us will be to aggressively move war powers resolutions until we end this war in the best interest of the American people.”
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we → move → people
Some Democratic candidates in hotly contested races have gone much further than Jeffries, zeroing in on the appropriations issue.
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candidates → contest → issue
Rep. Tom Barrett, of Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, was one of the few Republicans to vote for an Iran war powers resolution.
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Barrett → vote → resolution
But environmental activist Will Lawrence still attacked him at a recent debate on the issue of war funding.
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Lawrence → attack → funding
Morris, who is part of a coalition of groups that have called on Congress to cut off funding for the war, said she is not sure how aggressively Democrats will be willing to pursue the issue during the lame-duck period.
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Democrats → call → period
“Will they be willing to shut down the government over this?
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they → shut → this
I don’t have real answers.
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I → have → answers
I think there are a lot of variables here,” she said.
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she → think → variables
Another option supported by many advocates is the pending debate over the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual Pentagon budget and policy bill.
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option → support → Act
Critics of the war argue that Congress could attempt to insert a provision into the law cutting off authorization for the conflict.
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Congress → argue → conflict
Democrats should be willing to block the bill if it does not include “meaningful restrictions” on the administration’s ability to wage the war, said Hassan El-Tayyab, legislative director for Middle East Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation.
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Tayyab → block → Legislation
“That’s the mandate we’re seeing from the American people,” he said.
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he → ’ → people
“They shouldn’t pass a massive defense bill while leaving the administration free to pursue yet another open-ended war in the Middle East.”
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They → pass → East
The defense bill is generally considered “must-pass” legislation on Capitol Hill, providing leverage for Senate Democrats who could block it with a filibuster.
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who → consider → filibuster
The office of Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who plays a key role in the process as the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, did not respond to a request for comment.
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who → play → comment
Falling short of either of those paths, Democrats could continue to try to pass more war powers resolutions.
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Democrats → fall → resolutions
With their party poised for a dramatic shift in its favor in the midterm elections, Democrats could even try to exert pressure on Republican legislators to vote in favor of the resolutions, some opponents of the war believe.
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opponents → poise → war
Democrats could also wait until January, when they are widely predicted to retake control of one or both chambers of Congress.
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they → wait → Congress
Holding the gavel in the House or Senate will give them vastly expanded powers to set military spending and launch investigations into the conduct of the war.
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Holding → hold → war
One key Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, told The Intercept in a statement he was willing to pursue multiple paths to stopping the war, but all of them face obstacles until the next Congress.
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all → tell → Congress
“I am open to exploring options for using the NDAA or appropriations bills as a way to end the war,” said Smith, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.
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Smith → explore → Committee
“That effort would most likely require bipartisan support.
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effort → require → support
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
