Every so often the Democrats in Washington line up to do something they insist is righteous and world-saving—and then they lose. Again. By one vote.

That’s exactly what happened yesterday afternoon on the floor of the U.S. House.

Democrats rolled out their latest War Powers Resolution, the one they keep promising is going to finally rein in President Trump’s military campaign against Iran. The whole party marched in line. They counted the votes. They hammered the talking points.

And when the tally finally came in, it was 213 to 214. Gone. Done. Over.

Here’s how NBC News broke it:

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One single vote. That’s all it would have taken for the Democrats to force President Trump to pull U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran unless Congress formally authorized it.

They couldn’t find that one vote.

And here’s the part that has to sting the most for the progressive wing of the party—it was one of their own who sank it. Maine Democrat Jared Golden, a Marine Corps veteran sitting on the House Armed Services Committee, crossed the aisle and voted NO. He became the ONE Democrat who refused to tie the President’s hands.

Fox News laid out the full picture of what happened on the floor:

House Republicans voted 213-214 to block a Democratic war powers resolution that would have required President Trump to end military operations against Iran without congressional approval.

The measure, introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), failed narrowly, with only one Democrat (Rep. Jared Golden of Maine) voting against it and one Republican (Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky) supporting it.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said after the vote: “This has been the most successful military operation considering the breadth, the depth, the scope of the enemy… I believe we will be rewarded for the president’s efforts.”

Congress faces an April 28 deadline under the War Powers Act to authorize or block continued military force against Iran.

So that’s where we are. The Republican whip is publicly calling this one of the most successful U.S. military operations in recent memory, and the lone House Democrat willing to break ranks just handed his president a one-vote win.

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But the real story isn’t just this single vote. It’s the pattern.

Because this is now the SIXTH time Democrats in Congress have tried to handcuff President Trump on Iran—and the sixth time they’ve come up short. Four failed votes in the Senate. Two failed votes in the House. Zero wins.

A senior Heritage policy advisor summed the full scoreboard up in one post:

Look at that list. Kaine, Booker, Murphy, Duckworth—every big-name Democrat senator that the left keeps telling us is going to finally “stop Trump” has taken his or her shot. Every one of them has missed.

And somehow the closest they’ve come is still a loss. By one vote.

Military.com had more on how yesterday’s debate actually unfolded on the House floor:

The resolution would have required President Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the Iran conflict unless Congress authorized military action. Under the War Powers Act of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize force within 60 days—a deadline arriving at the end of April.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) warned: “We’re standing at the edge of a cliff and Congress must act before the president pushes off.”

Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, fired back: “When Joe Biden was responding to merchant marine vessels being attacked, it was OK. No war power needed. It went on for about a year. President Trump responds—war power, war power, war power… That’s the hypocrisy.”

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Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) added: “President Donald Trump has sent a message that those who threaten the United States and our partners will be held accountable.”

That Biden-vs-Trump hypocrisy point from Chairman Mast is the quiet knockout blow in this whole debate. Biden spent nearly a year running a shooting war against Iranian-backed Houthis and barely anyone in Congress peeped. The second Trump does anything about Iran, suddenly it’s an emergency and Democrats are sprinting to the floor with a War Powers Resolution in their hands.

Americans notice that. Voters notice that. Apparently even one Maine Democrat notices it.

Golden’s reasoning was pretty simple: the U.S. and Iran are currently in a ceasefire, there are active peace negotiations going on, and passing a resolution like this right now would knee-cap the American side of that negotiation. His exact words were that the resolution “would weaken our hand.”

That’s not a progressive position. That’s a national security position. And it’s the position that’s actually winning.

The War Powers Act deadline hits April 28. The ceasefire clock is ticking. Democrats have promised to keep forcing these votes “every week” until the war ends. Based on yesterday’s scoreboard, they’ve got a lot more losing to do before they get there.

 

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