U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood and Eric Sorensen split their votes Wednesday as the Republican-led House voted to end the war with Iran, a bipartisan rebuke of President Trump's handling of the conflict and the subsequent economic fallout.
LaHood, a Republican from the Peoria area, voted against the war powers resolution, which passed 215-208. Sorensen, a Democrat from the Quad Cities, voted in favor of it.
“I was proud to help pass a War Powers Resolution because my neighbors can’t continue paying $5/gallon for gas and our farmers can’t continue paying nearly $6 for diesel," Sorensen said in a statement. "And we certainly don’t want to see American troops sent to fight another foreign war. It’s long past time we rein in the President and put an end to this conflict that’s driving up costs and causing chaos.”
WGLT has requested a comment from LaHood about his vote.
Four Republicans joined Democrats in support of the resolution. The Trump administration has furiously pushed against the effort in both the House and Senate. The vote signals President Trump’s support for the war may be slipping even among some members of his own party, NPR reports.
The vote is mostly symbolic. Democrats, despite multiple attempts, have been unable to pass a war powers resolution through the Republican-led Senate.
LaHood has called for an “off ramp” from the war with Iran and that “we need to wind down the conflict,” though he’s stopped short of publicly criticizing the ongoing military action entirely. He said a diplomatic approach should be used to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Sorensen has been critical of the war from the start. More recently, he’s focused on the cost of the war, saying that “my neighbors are paying $5 for a gallon of gas while the Trump administration spends $1 billion of our tax dollars every day on a supposed ceasefire without an exit plan.”
Iran and the campaign
LaHood, who represents the heavily Republican 16th Congressional District, faces Democratic challenger Paul Nolley in November’s midterm election.
In a statement Wednesday night, Nolley also focused on the cost of the war, saying “working people, farmers, and small businesses across the 16th District are the ones left paying the price — through higher fuel costs, higher input costs like fertilizer, tighter margins, and more uncertainty at a time when they can least afford it.”
“Once again, Darin LaHood chose to side with his corporate campaign donors and the Trump administration, further putting the lives of American service members in danger and costing our taxpayers billions of dollars for a war that did not receive proper congressional authorization. I applaud the Republicans and Democrats alike who joined together to rein in executive power that has been left unchecked for far too long,” Nolley said.
Sorensen will face Republican Dillan Vancil in November. WGLT has requested a comment from Vancil about Wednesday’s House vote.
