Congressman Bill Keating of Massachusetts' 9th District of Massachusetts and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee joined Boston Public Radio to offer some context as the House of Representatives prepares to vote to restrict President Donald Trump's war powers in Iran.
"I believe it's partisan, I don't think it should be, we'll see. You never know when the votes come in," said Keating. "I think right now it may be there's no one on the other side. Clearly this shouldn't be a partisan issue, something of this magnitude, but it seems today in Congress everything is."
The Democrat-led push to limit Trump's power cae in the wake of his justification for ordering a drone strike last week that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Soleimani with little notification to Congress beforehand.
Keating said he entered Congress around the same time the Tea Party was picking up steam, and he has seen a shift in the House since then that has led to more entrenchment along party lines.
"We've had a slippage for decades. Today's important, not because it's partisan but because the issue with Iran directly in front of us has raised this issue as clear as anything, I think, that could be raised, about having a role for congress," he said. "There's going to be resolutions in the senate, but ours will pass, clearly I think it's tough sledding all the way through, it'll be tough sledding even if passed, but it's important now, at this moment, not because of who the president is, but because the Iran issue is crystal clear."
