House passes resolution opposing withdrawal of troops from Syria

The House voted on a measure opposing Trump's decision to withdraw troops from northeast Syria.

The United States House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted its bipartisan condemnation of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of American forces from northern Syria.

The House vote was 354-60 with every Democrat and more than two thirds of the Republicans supporting the measure.

The resolution states Congress’ opposition to the troop pullback and says the White House should present a plan for an “enduring defeat” of the Islamic State group.

The joint resolution calls for Turkey to immediately cease military operations in Northeast Syria and for the U.S. government to continue humanitarian assistance for Syrian Kurdish communities, who are facing an outsized share of harm from President Trump's reckless decision.

The resolution called on the United States to work to ensure that the Turkish military acts with restraint and respects existing agreements relating to Syria.

“At President Trump’s hands, American leadership has been laid low, and American foreign policy has become nothing more than a tool to advance his own interests,” said Representative Eliot L. Engel of New York, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee who introduced the measure. “Today we make clear that the Congress is a coequal branch of government and we want nothing to do with this disastrous policy.”

Republicans called the troop withdrawal “disastrous” and a “catastrophe.” Democrats criticized Trump directly, with Rep. Seth Moulton saying Trump “has taken the side of dictators and butchers.”

Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a co-sponsor of the resolution, said the pullout has stained America's reputation as a dependable partner.

"We told them: 'Trust us. We have your back'," McCaul said on the House floor minutes before the vote. "And what is happening now? The Kurds are being slaughtered as I speak in northern Syria."

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., called Trump's action "shameful" and potentially harmful to the United States.

"It just opened the door for ISIS to reclaim some power," Hoyer said. "Any terrorist attack they now take will be as a direct result of this action."