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ANALYSIS

The Iran War Powers Act, the Lindsey Graham Act, the impeachment of Hegseth: The number of GOP representatives standing up to Trump is growing ahead of the midterm recess

The number of conservative lawmakers who supported the Democratic motion to limit the president's ability to continue military actions in the Middle East rose from four in June to seven last Tuesday. Massie also sought to bring the Secretary of War's impeachment to a vote.

Chip Roy (left) and Mike Johnson speak during a plenary session in the House

Chip Roy (left) and Mike Johnson speak during a plenary session in the HouseAFP

Israel Duro
Published by
Israel Duro

Last Wednesday, Mike Johnson decided to send the representatives home to prepare for the crucial midterm campaign in November. This move, among other things, prevented the full House from taking a vote on a potential impeachment of the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. Furthermore, the recess comes at a time when the conservative caucus's opposition to the White House's agenda has intensified.

Seven Republicans allow a proposal to limit Trump's actions in Iran to pass

The most striking example was undoubtedly the passage of a Democratic motion to limit Trump's war powers in Iran. The proposal passed 220-204 and was supported by as many as seven conservative representatives. In June, there were only four conservative rebels.

Last Tuesday, however, Thomas Massie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Warren Davidson, Tom Barrett, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Zach Nunn and Nancy Mace backed the initiative by Democrat Seth Moulton.

VIDEO: Analysis by Vanessa Vallejo on VOZ NEWS

The start of an impeachment process against Hegseth

One of the advantages of expediting the end of the congressional session was to prevent a vote on the impeachment motion against Pete Hegseth, introduced by Thomas Massie. Although the Kentucky representative has been a thorn in the side of the GOP's voting unity throughout the entire legislative session, there was a risk that more Republicans would join the initiative when the time came to vote.

In the resolution, Massie argued that the Secretary of War violated "his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States" and failed to fulfill "his constitutional duty to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed, especially with regard to the conduct of the war." Furthermore, he argued that Hegseth has "abused the powers" of the Department of War.

A handful of Republicans voted against the Lindsay Graham Act

The latest example came with the vote on a bill that passed the Senate 86-11. The posthumous bill by Lindsey Graham to expand sanctions against Russia and Iran, however, faced opposition from a handful of hard-line conservatives, for reasons related to free-market principles or non-interventionism.

Among the rebels are Chip Roy, Thomas Massie, Ralph Norman, Keith Self and Andy Harris.

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