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House Democratic leaders<\/span> threw their weight behind a vote to force President Donald Trump to make the case for war with Iran on Thursday, after concerns from advocates that they were slow-walking a war powers resolution.<\/p>\n In a joint statement<\/a>, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Democrats said they would force a vote as soon as Congress reconvenes next week.<\/p>\n The delay in forcing a vote means, however, that Trump or Israel could attack Iran before a vote even happens. No matter the timing, observers expect the war power resolution to fail due to scattered Democratic opposition.<\/p>\n Pro-Israel hard-liners Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., have both come out against the bill. They have taken the position that Trump should have a free hand \u2014 with Moskowitz even deriding the resolution as the \u201cAyatollah Protection Act.\u201d<\/p>\n In Moskowitz\u2019s case, his position is drawing fire from primary opponent Oliver Larkin, a Democratic Socialists of America member who said Moskowitz\u2019s comments showed \u201cunseriousness\u201d about the looming war.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is ultimately willing to cede congressional war powers authority, which is required under the Constitution. He is willing to continue this failed, multiple decades of ceding congressional power to the president, to the executive, with catastrophic results,\u201d Larkin said.<\/p>\n Moskowitz\u2019s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gottheimer and Moskowitz have taken a different public stance than Democratic leaders, who have generally expressed caution about the prospect of war with Iran.<\/p>\n It was only Thursday, however, that top Democrats including Jeffries gave a full-throated endorsement of a bipartisan war powers resolution from Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky. <\/p>\n At a minimum, Democratic leaders could have been more aggressive in pursuing a vote on a possible U.S attack that Trump has floated for weeks, said Erik Sperling, the executive director of the nonprofit group Just Foreign Policy.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat really counts is having the vote and having it before the war.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cBut what really counts is having the vote and having it before the war. If they\u2019re willing to get behind Khanna\u2013Massie and whip for it, then that\u2019s what the Democratic base and the American people hope to get from them, so that would be very positive,\u201d Sperling said Wednesday.<\/p>\n The exact timing of the House floor on the Khanna\u2013Massie resolution remains unclear, but members are back in their districts until Monday. In the Senate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Wednesday<\/a> that he will move to force a floor vote on his resolution \u201cvery soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Gottheimer was the first Democrat to oppose the war powers. In a February 20 joint statement with Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Gottheimer said that Iran posed a \u201cdirect threat.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe respect and defend Congress\u2019s constitutional role in matters of war. Oversight and debate are absolutely vital. However, this resolution would restrict the flexibility needed to respond to real and evolving threats and risks, signaling weakness at a dangerous moment,\u201d the lawmakers said.<\/p>\n\n