The House of Representatives sent a strong rebuke to Donald Trump Wednesday, voting 354-60 to adopt a joint resolution opposing his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and calling on Turkish President Erdoğan to immediately cease unilateral military action in Northern Syria. The resolution needed a two-thirds majority—290 votes—to pass.
The resolution specifically, "(1) opposes the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria; (2) calls on Turkish President Erdoğan to immediately cease unilateral military action in North east Syria and to respect existing agreements relating to Syria; 3) calls on the United States to continue supporting Syrian Kurdish communities through humanitarian support, including to those displaced or otherwise affected by ongoing violence in Syria; (4) calls on the United States to work to ensure that the Turkish military acts with restraint and respects existing agreements relating to Syria; and (5) calls on the White House to present a clear and specific plan for the enduring defeat of ISIS."
It's a nonbinding resolution, but the 129 Republican votes voting to not just condemn Turkey but take Trump to task is not insignificant, and will put more pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the resolution to the Senate floor. But it is definitely a rebuke of Trump, one that Mitch and team might not want to touch.
Wednesday, Oct 16, 2019 · 8:39:21 PM +00:00 · Barbara Morrill
Shortly after the vote, Donald Trump met with congressional leaders at the White House, and moments ago, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer gave a brief read-out of the meeting. Pelosi said that Trump had a “meltdown,” was “shaken up” by it, and “was just not relating to the reality of it,” so they left the meeting. Schumer and Stoyer then said that Trump unleashed a “diatribe” against Pelosi, calling her a “third-rate politician,” and suggested that because some ISIS members were communists, she’d “probably like that.” Pelosi also said that impeachment was not talked about, but clearly it was on Trump’s mind.