Iraq War at 18: Who voted for it, who didn’t, and where are they now?
Yesterday marked the 18th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. The Iraq War, in other words, is now old enough to fight in Iraq — where the US still has a troop presence.
Although the war would not begin until March 2003, the House passed the Authorization of the Use of Military Force (AUMF) for Iraq in October 2002. The vote was 296 to 133. 215 Republicans and 81 Democrats voted for it. 126 Democrats, 6 Republicans, and 1 Independent (Sanders) voted against it.
Of those 127 NAY votes from the Democratic caucus, 37 are still there:
Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
James Clyburn (SC-06)
Danny Davis (IL-07)
Pete DeFazio (OR-04)
Diana DeGette (CO-01)
Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)
Lloyd Doggett (TX-35)
Mike Doyle (PA-14)
Anna Eshoo (CA-18)
Alcee Hastings (FL-20)
Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)
Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
Dan Kildee (MI-05)
Jim Langevin (RI-02)
Rick Larsen (WA-02)
John Larson (CT-01)
Barbara Lee (CA-13)
Zoe Lofgren (CA-19)
Doris Matsui (CA-06)
Betty McCollum (MN-04)
Jim McGovern (MA-02)
Gregory Meeks (NY-05)
Jerry Nadler (NY-10)
Grace Napolitano (CA-32)
Richard Neal (MA-01)
Frank Pallone (NJ-06)
Nancy Pelosi (CA-12)
David Price (NC-04)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40)
Bobby Rush (IL-01)
Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
Bobby Scott (VA-03)
Bennie Thompson (MS-02)
Mike Thompson (CA-05)
Nydia Velázquez (NY-07)
Maxine Waters (CA-43)
6 are now in the Senate: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Tom Udall (D-NM).
Of the 81 YEA votes of the Democratic caucus, 10 are currently in the House, and 1 is in the Senate.
Here are the 10 in the House: Sanford Bishop (GA-02), Ted Deutch (FL-22), Steny Hoyer (MD-05), Ron Kind (WI-03), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Adam Schiff (CA-28), Brad Sherman (CA-30), and Adam Smith (WA-09).
The 1 in the Senate is (surprisingly) Ed Markey (D-MA).
The next day, the Senate had its vote: 77–23. 48 Republicans and 29 Democrats voted YEA. 21 Democrats, 1 Republican (Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island), and 1 Independent (Jim Jeffords of Vermont) voted NAY.
Of the 21 Democrats who voted NAY, 6 are still in the Senate: Dick Durbin (D-IL), Pat Leahy (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
And of the 29 Democrats who voted YEA, 4 are still in the Senate: Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tom Carper (D-DE), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Among the Senate yeses were, of course, now President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State and presidential candidate John Kerry, and former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The Republicans were nearly unanimous in both houses of Congress, so “Which Republicans who voted for it are still there?” is basically the same as “Which Republicans who were there in 2002 are still there?” None of the Republicans who voted NO are still there.
