Rep. Matt Gaetz’s bid to pull U.S. troops out of Syria was way short in the House, as many Republicans, including some from Florida, sided with Democrats to retain our presence there.
As The Free Press reported last month, Gaetz called for American troops to leave Syria after four soldiers and a service dog were wounded in a raid that killed ISIS terrorist leader Hamza al-Homsi. All of the injured roops and their canine were expected to recover.
Yet Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, filed a bill to have the troops pulled out within 15 days of its enactment.
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“Congress has never authorized the use of military force in Syria,” Gaetz said at the time. “The United States is currently not in a war with or against Syria, so why are we conducting dangerous military operations there? America First means actually putting the people of our country first — not the interests of the Military Industrial Complex.”
But as The Free Press reported, Gaetz’s effort failed on Thursday by a 321-103 vote.
Gaetz had the support of the “MAGA Republicans,” such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, as well as left-wing Democrats like Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Florida’s Voice noted.
Within Florida’s delegation, Reps. Aaron Bean, Kat Cammack, Byron Donalds, Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills, and Bill Posey voted with Gaetz.
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Florida Republicans who joined Democrats in opposition included Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Mario Diaz-Balart, Neal Dunn, Scott Franklin, Carlos Gimenez, Laurel Lee, Brian Mast, John Rutherford, Maria Salazar, Mike Waltz, and Daniel Webster.
“The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the sole power to declare war. To date, Congress has never authorized kinetic participation of U.S. Armed Forces in Syria,” Gaetz’s office said.
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