The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Wednesday – 354 to 60 – to oppose the Trump administration’s withdrawal of American soldiers from northern Syria. Less than half of Austin’s Republican delegation stood with the president.
Five Republican members of Congress have districts that include part of Austin. Reps. Michael McCaul and Bill Flores, who’s retiring when his term expires, joined all 225 Democrats present, including Austin Democrat Rep. Lloyd Doggett, to vote in support of the resolution. McCaul was one of two cosponsors of the legislation.
The resolution lays out the House's opposition to “the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria,” calling the move “beneficial to adversaries of the United States government, including Syria, Iran, and Russia.”
Republican Reps. Roger Williams and John Carter opposed the resolution. Rep. Chip Roy, a freshman Republican who replaced retiring Congressman Lamar Smith, voted present.
The resolution is non-binding.