WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democratic-controlled House defeated legislation Thursday to require the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq within nine months, then pivoted quickly to a fresh challenge of President Bush's handling of the unpopular war.The vote on the nine-month withdrawal measure was 255-171. The bill drew the support of 169 Democrats and two Republicans. There were 59 Democrats and 196 Republicans opposed.
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Bush's critics in Congress treated his willingness to apply benchmarks to the Iraqis as a concession, but said they wanted more. "Democrats are not going to give the president a blank check for a war without end," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. To buttress her point, Democrats advanced legislation for a vote later in the evening providing funds for the war grudgingly, in two installments. The first portion would cover costs until Aug. 1 - $42.8 billion to buy equipment and train Iraqi and Afghan security forces.
Under the bill, it would take a summertime vote by Congress to free an additional $52.8 billion, the money needed to cover costs through the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year. "We reject that idea. It won't work," the president declared after a meeting with military leaders at the Pentagon.
Democratic officials, speaking privately, said Pelosi had agreed to allow the vote on the withdrawal measure in the hope that her rank-and-file would then unite behind the funding bill. But in an increasingly complex political environment, even that measure was deemed to be dead on arrival in the Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow advantage and the rules give Republicans leverage to block legislation.