House tensions erupt as Tlaib pushes Lebanon war powers vote
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Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (R-Mich.) look on as President Trump delivers the State of the Union address on February 24, 2026. Photo: Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images
Tensions in the House boiled over Wednesday as Democrats and Republicans alike fumed at Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for her push to pass a Lebanon war powers resolution.
Why it matters: The fight — which was already dividing Democrats — has now sparked an explosive cross-partisan exchange on the House floor that briefly ground the chamber to a halt.
- Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) said of Tlaib during debate on the measure: "Hezbollah is a terrorist organization ... and its members are butchers that you like to hang out with to a certain extent."
- Tlaib moved to strike Miller's words from the congressional record, leading to a heated back-and-forth that kept the floor shut down for more than an hour.
- Miller's words were later stricken from the record, with Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) entering a statement into the record from Miller reading: "'Yes, I said it. I own it, and I stand by it.'"
State of play: Tlaib is moving forward with a forced war powers vote despite party leadership's efforts to alter the measure to address concerns from more moderate Democrats that it would would hamper current U.S. operations in Lebanon.
- Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Tlaib's co-lead on the measure, told Axios changing the resolution would mean having to start the whole process over again and that "we wouldn't be voting on anything until July."
- "The groups are just tired of waiting," Ramirez added, referring to anti-war groups supporting the resolution.
What they're saying: Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), chair of the center-left New Democrat Coalition, said U.S. forces in Lebanon are providing services that "need to continue," such as protecting the U.S. embassy in Beirut and helping the Lebanese Army fight Hezbollah.
- "I'm not going to vote to take away those things," he told Axios.
- Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) told Axios in a text message: "I am a No."
- House Armed Services Committee ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) both said Wednesday they were working with Tlaib to try to fix the bill to address those concerns.
The other side: "We just had Donald Trump tell America that [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu is 'crazy' in Lebanon. He probably wants a war powers resolution," said progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
- Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) told Axios: "What's happening in Lebanon is horrible and I appreciate her raising it up."
- "I know there's kind of been some back-and-forth about when we vote on this and in what form," he added. When it comes up, I'm supportive of it and I think many CPC members will be."
What to watch: Ramirez floated the possibility of voting on the resolution now and then an amendment in June to address Democratic concerns.
- Said Casar: "There's always questions about whether to have one vote at one time or whether to have multiple votes. I'll just keep on urging that people get to the language we need to get as many votes as we can get."
The bottom line: Some Democrats are likely intractably opposed to the measure, meaning the party will inevitably be divided when it comes to a vote.
- Many more are frustrated at Tlaib simply for making them take the vote and torn between their opposition to Israel's actions in Lebanon and their substantive concerns with the bill.
