WASHINGTON — After four days of contentious debate, the House on Friday repudiated President Bush's decision to send more U.S. troops to Iraq -- the first official challenge by the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill to his management of the war.
The nonbinding resolution expressing disapproval of the troop buildup passed 246 to 182, largely along party lines, with 17 Republicans joining 229 Democrats to back what amounts to a rare wartime rebuke of a commander in chief. Voting against it were 180 Republicans and two Democrats.
The sharp partisan split was a disappointment to Democratic leaders, who had hoped for more GOP support, and it lessened the vote's political impact.
Still, the vote marked a milestone in the declining public support for the nearly 4-year-old war, and it signified the growing Democratic determination to press for a de-escalation of U.S. involvement in the conflict.
"Today, in a loud voice, the Congress of the United States has said to the president, 'Mr. President, we need a new direction in Iraq,' " House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said.
During this week's debate on the resolution, lawmakers on both sides of the argument characterized it as a first step toward a more concrete Democratic push to change Bush's course in Iraq. An effort already is underway in the House to attach strings to the latest White House war funding request, a move aimed at delaying -- and perhaps thwarting -- much of the new troop deployment.
Democrats warned the president to take heed. "If need be, Congress will end this war -- with binding legislation," said Rep. Allan B. Mollohan of West Virginia, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee.
Democrats gained control of the House and Senate in last fall's election due in large part to voter disaffection with the war. Today, the Senate is meeting in a rare Saturday session for a vote on whether that chamber will take up the House resolution.
Bush has said he intends to ignore the message sent by the House measure, though he has expressed concern about Congress taking further action that would limit his stewardship of the war.
After the House vote, the White House issued a statement saying that Bush ordered the troop buildup "because he, like most Americans, believed the existing situation in Iraq was unacceptable."
