Maggie Haberman: Matt Gaetz Speech in Favor of War Powers Resolution Hit Trump ‘Where it Hurts’
CNN Contributor and NY Times White House reporter Maggie Haberman put President Donald Trump’s reaction to Thursday’s House vote on a War Powers resolution in stark relief Friday morning, underlying the influence of a speech made by Trump ally Rep. Matt Gaetz.
In a surprising twist, the staunch Trump defender broke ranks with his Republican party and voted with the vast majority of House Democrats to pass a war powers resolution that would constrain PresidentTrump from taking any further military action against Iran without Congressional approval.
During a passionate House floor speech on Thursday afternoon, Gaetz noted that he had just attended a burial of a military service member at Arlington National Cemetery, before expressing his support for the resolution as a test of Congressional courage. The House resolution ultimately passed 224-194, with just three Republicans, including Gaetz, and one Independent supporting its passage.
“If the members of our armed services have the courage to go and fight and die in these wars, as Congress, we ought to have the courage to vote for them or against them,” Gaetz argued. “Engaging in another forever war in the Middle East would be the wrong decision, and that’s why I’m voting for this resolution.”
“That speech from Matt Gaetz, the Republican who supports the president on the floor yesterday was very, very important,” Haberman explained. “This is a president who ran against the Iraq War, ran as somebody who was going to get us out of the Middle East, who opposed George W. Bush’s use of intelligence. And those are some of the same questions being raised about his administration right now.”
Haberman continued “so that speech hit him where it hurts. Another thing here is that advisers say it’s not clear that the president understands that the fallout here will take weeks to fully understand.”
Watch above via CNN.
