Secretary of State John Kerry's testimony in the House Armed Services Committee turned heated Tuesday when Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) argued with him over the resolution to authorize the use of force in Syria.
Miller said the Senate delayed a resolution Monday night to use force because the votes were not there to pass it. "You know that," he said.
Kerry shot back, "Actually, no I don't."
"Do you want to play politics here or do you want to get a policy in place?" Kerry later asked. "The policy that can be put in place is to try to get this particular option of getting control of chemical weapons in place. If you want to undermine that, then play the politics."
Miller then started speaking over Kerry and asked the chairman to limit answers to the questions asked.
"But you really don't want answers, do you," Kerry said later.
"This is not the Senate. We do not filibuster here," Miller said after a brief back-and-forth.
The exchange demonstrated how difficult it is to get House Republicans on board with the Syria resolution. Just 12 Republicans have said they support it or are leaning toward supporting it, according to a Huffington Post whip count. Despite the criticism of many in the house rank-and-file, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) are backing the resolution.
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