A strange coalition of House Republicans and Democrats was coalescing Wednesday on a limited measure to authorize training Syrian rebels.

The vote Wednesday afternoon on a limited measure to authorize, but not fund, such training attracted a coalition of legislators including House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

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UPDATE: The House has voted in favor of the measure, 273 to 156. It now goes to the Senate which hopes to pass it as early as Thursday.

Opposition to the authorization centered around a strange coalition of isolationist Republicans, antiwar Democrats and libertarians. They say training Syrian rebels won't matter and may result in more arms falling into the hands of Islamic extremists.

President Obama lobbied hard for the passage of training legislation even while presenting it as a limited measure. He called key Democrats seeking approval while Republican vote-counters pressed their side of the aisle for training legislation passage.

Authorization takes the form of an amendment to the continuing legislation funding the government beyond the end of the month. It gives the president power to train rebels and accept funds from countries like Saudi Arabia to do the same.

Additional language in the legislation that was due for a late Wednesday vote called for a report detailing how training assisted the larger aim of overthrowing ISIS along with the Syrian state of Bashar al-Assad.

With an unusual coalition of conservative and liberal representatives opposing the measure, House leadership on both sides of the aisle emphasized training authorization didn't mean American boots on the ground. Pelosi said she wouldn't vote for any legislation sending U.S. troops to Syria.

The major selling point for wavering Democrats was the opportunity to support the president during difficult political times. For Republicans who vote against the president on everything, the selling point was the need to do something substantial to confront Assad and ISIS.

TagsHouse of representatives, Syria rebels, free syria army, ISIS, ISIL, Obama, nancy pelosi, John Boehner, U.S. politics