Here’s why three Republicans defied the president and voted to limit his power on Iran

The House of Representatives passed a war powers resolution limiting President Trump’s ability to use military action in Iran, with three Republicans voting in support.

The vote comes after Iran responded to the U.S. killing of a top general with missile strikes on Iraqi military bases that house American troops. The Republicans who voted in favor of the measure Thursday were Reps. Matt Gaetz and Francis Rooney, of Florida, and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

Gaetz, a fervent supporter of Trump during the impeachment hearings, said in a Twitter post that the resolution did not criticize the president. He said he spoke with Trump on Thursday, and he’s “more anti-war than I am.”

“If our servicemembers have the courage to fight and die in these wars, Congress ought to have the courage to vote for or against them,” Gaetz wrote on Twitter.

Massie echoed that view, saying in a Twitter post that a decision to go to war must be “with the blessing and the support of the people” and a “clear mission that our soldiers can accomplish.”

“We do that by following the vision of our founding fathers - we debate it on the floor of the House,” he wrote.

The same day, Massie announced he also was cosponsoring a bill by Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee, of California, to repeal the authorization of military force in Iraq. He said a vote on the measure would show “who is serious about ending forever wars.”

In a statement Friday, Rooney listed several reasons to support the war powers resolution. First, he said that Congress must exercise its authority under the Constitution to declare war or approve military engagement.

“Unfortunately, ever since the Vietnam War there has been a steady and consistent evisceration of Congress’ role,” he said.

Rooney said there also was a need for a long-term strategy in Iran, with a focus on the differences between what the Iranian people want and what the government would provide.

“Like the containment strategy which brought down the soviet union, we can play long ball in Iran,” he said.

Lastly, the congressman said the conflicts among the religious subsects in Iraq were a benefit to the United States, and it would be better to let those conflicts spread then give the people a new enemy to focus on.

Several Democrats crossed party lines to vote against the war powers resolution, including Reps. Anthony Brindisi, Joe Cunningham and Elaine Luria. Brindisi, of New York, said after the vote that he felt the Trump administration was justified in killing Iran’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani, according to Roll Call.

“Going forward, I don’t want to restrict this administration, or, frankly, any administration’s ability to respond to threats from Iran,” he said.

Cunningham echoed that view in a statement, saying, “We should avoid sending the message that Congress is not behind the Commander-in-Chief.”

The war powers resolution will now head to the Senate.

This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 10:30 AM.