WASHINGTON _ Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will vote this week to limit what military actions President Donald Trump can take against Iran, following the U.S. killing last week of a top Iranian general.
"Last week, the Trump administration conducted a provocative and disproportionate military airstrike targeting high-level Iranian military officials," Pelosi said in a letter to House colleagues Sunday. "This action endangered our service members, diplomats and others by risking a serious escalation of tensions with Iran."
She said the administration failed to consult Congress, which the Constitution vests with the power to declare war.
The resolution, which will be sponsored by freshman Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a former CIA analyst, will mandate that if no further congressional action is taken, the administration's military hostilities with regard to Iran cease within 30 days, Pelosi said.
The resolution is certain to pass the Democratic-controlled House. But it is unclear whether the Senate will take a similar action, meaning the resolution could be largely symbolic.
White House officially notified Congress on Jan. 4 that it had carried out a fatal drone strike against Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Pelosi said in a statement that the classified document "raises more questions than it answers."
This week the White House is expected to brief members of Congress, almost all of whom _ including leadership _ were not informed before the strike.
