The House on Tuesday rejected Rep. Rashida Tlaib's updated war powers resolution that would have directed President Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities in Lebanon.
The vote ended 189 in favor and 235 in opposition, with 22 Democrats siding with Republicans in voting against the measure.
The revised measure would have directed the president to remove U.S. armed forces "from any hostilities in Lebanon" within seven days of the measure's adoption and said, "Nothing in this concurrent resolution may be construed to prevent or limit security cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces or the protection of diplomatic facilities."
The original version would have directed the president to remove U.S. armed forces "from Lebanon" within seven days.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said earlier this month, "Currently, there are no U.S. service members involved in combat operations or hostilities in Lebanon," explaining the change to the language.
Tlaib said Monday during floor debate the vote was about "immediately ending all U.S. participation in the Israeli government's violent assault against the people of Lebanon."
Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the updated version "corrected the flaws" of the earlier measure and that, "It will not infringe upon America's national security interests in Lebanon, while ensuring we stay out of another forever war that is not in our national interest." He added, "to my knowledge, United States forces are not currently engaged in any active hostilities in Lebanon with the Israeli military. Nonetheless, this resolution ensures that does not change without congressional authorization."
Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the updated measure is "not quite as ridiculous this time as it was the last time … but still significantly ridiculous" and called the resolution "a win for terrorists."
The new version was worked out between Tlaib and Democratic leadership as a compromise after the original failed.
That split in Democratic support was far smaller than in an earlier vote, when 117 Democrats opposed a prior resolution that lacked the explicit protections for U.S. troops fighting Hezbollah and protecting embassies and consulates.
Many Democratic centrists argued the measure was an answer to a non-existent problem because the United States has not been involved in Israel's operations in southern Lebanon; Rep. Jared Golden of Maine said, "To the best of my knowledge, we're not engaged in a conflict with Lebanon."
The left recently unseated several pro-Israel House Democrats in New York, which has many establishment Democrats on edge about their electoral safety.
CBS News reported that tensions in southern Lebanon have threatened a final peace deal between the U.S. and Iran, and that an agreement signed last week between the Israeli and Lebanese governments to end the fighting in southern Lebanon links Israel's removal of forces from the area with Hezbollah's disarmament, while Hezbollah has refused to give up its weapons.