Donna Cassata: House Rejects Measure to Continue US Role In Libya!

The House refused to vote President Obama the authority for US military operations against Libya on Friday, but stopped short of cutting off funds for the mission, a mixed message reminiscent of congressional unease on Vietnam and more wars. In a repudiation of the "commander in chief", the House voted overwhelmingly against a resolution that would have favored letting the mission continue for one year, while barring US ground forces, a resolution the president said would be welcome. The vote was 295-123, with 70 Democrats abandoning Obama one day after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had made a last-minute plea in a Capitol Hill meeting, but shortly after that vote, the House turned back a Republican-led effort to cut off money for military hostilities in the Libyan war. The vote was 238-180. The funding measure would have barred drone attacks and airstrikes, but allowed the United States to continue actions in support of NATO. While the first vote on White House authority has no immediate effect on American involvement in the NATO-led mission, it was an embarrassment to a sitting president, and certain to have reverberations in Tripoli and NATO capitals. The vote marked the first time since 1999 that either House has voted against a president's authority to carry out a military operation. The last time was to limit President Bill Clinton's authority to use ground forces in Kosovo. Republican leaders pushed for Friday's constitutional showdown between the executive and legislative branches, with rank-and-file House members saying the president broke the law by failing to seek congressional approval for the 3-months-old war!