House Votes 354-60 On Resolution To Rebuke Trump Over Syria Withdrawal

The House of Representatives passed a resolution on Wednesday to formally rebuke President Donald Trump over his decision to pull American troops out of Syria.

House lawmakers passed the measure with a 354-60 vote. All Democrats and 129 Republicans voted in favor of the resolution and 60 GOP members opposed it. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-New York) and the top-ranking Republican on the panel, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), sponsored the measure, which urged the Trump administration
“to present a clear and specific plan for the enduring defeat of ISIS.”

The resolution also demanded Turkey end its invasion of Syria and called on the U.S. to join forces again with the Kurds, a longtime key ally in the region, to fight ISIS. The measure points out Trump’s Oct. 6 phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

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Lawmakers from both houses are planning to introduce legislation that imposes sanctions against Turkey for its military actions. On Wednesday, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) revealed a bill she is leading on this issue already has 90 GOP co-sponsors. McCaul and Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-South Carolina) also plan to present similar legislation.

Trump himself has imposed sanctions on top-ranking Turkish officials, including the energy minister, the interior minister and the defense minister. However, many members of Congress have said they believe the president’s restrictions against Turkey were not severe enough.

On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said he would like his chamber to pass an “even stronger” resolution than the one the House passed.

“It’s important we make a strong, forward-looking strategic statement. For that reason, my preference would be for something even stronger than the resolution the House passed yesterday, which has some serious weaknesses,” McConnell said early Thursday in a speech on the Senate floor. “It is backward looking and curiously silent on the issue of whether to actually sustain a military presence in Syria, perhaps to spare Democrats from having to go on record on this key question.”