| Congressman Ryan Mackenzie is facing new scrutiny for voting to continue the Iran war just hours after he had “declined to answer a constituent’s question” about his support for the war during a telephone town hall.
After The Morning Call first reported that Mackenzie “did not directly address his stance on the Iran war” during his latest telephone town hall, Heartland Signal reports:
“Less than a day after the town hall, Mackenzie joined 206 GOP House colleagues in voting against…a measure that would require the president to withdraw military forces unless he has congressional authorization.
Mackenzie’s dodge comes just weeks after he was caught quietly scrubbing any mentions of ‘forever wars’ from his campaign website.
Read more for yourself…
Heartland Signal: Rep. Ryan Mackenzie avoids constituent’s question on Iran military spending, then votes for more spending
- U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) declined to answer a constituent’s question regarding federal spending on foreign military conflicts during a telephone town hall last week, hours before voting against a House war powers resolution.
- “Honestly, I’d like to know your stance on this, especially when I’m a senior citizen, and I’m being told that our reserve funds, used to pay full retirement benefits for Social Security, will be depleted by 2032,” the constituent said. “So, we have many, many senior citizens that are doing without many things, and can barely stay in their homes. So, how can we justify spending $87 billion on a war that, frankly, I don’t think has really accomplished much of anything?”
- Mackenzie did not directly address his stance on the war, instead saying that “we want to see a peaceful resolution in all of these conflicts as soon as possible.”
- Less than a day after the town hall, Mackenzie joined 206 GOP House colleagues in voting against House Concurrent Resolution 89, a measure that would require the president to withdraw military forces unless he has congressional authorization. The vote marked the fifth time Mackenzie has voted against measures to limit funding or military engagement in the region.
- The vote also contrasts with Mackenzie’s past statements. While campaigning in 2024, Mackenzie specifically expressed concerns over the U.S. bombing Iran and engaging in “forever wars.” Archived snapshots of Mackenzie’s website from May show that references to military policy and the word “war” were removed from his policy priorities page earlier this year.
- Brooks criticized Mackenzie’s inconsistent record in an emailed statement to Heartland Signal, saying, “his votes are the reason why we are paying more for everything from gas to groceries.”
- “Ryan Mackenzie lied to the people of the Lehigh Valley. He campaigned on a promise to oppose reckless spending on foreign wars, but has now voted 5 times to continue the cost-spiking war in Iran,” Brooks said. “Now he is dodging his own constituents and scrubbing his own website because he knows his voting record is indefensible.”
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