On November 18, 2005, the House debated a Republican-sponsored resolution, H. Res. 572, calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. It was prompted by the call of John P. Murtha, Jr., a Democrat from Pennsylvania, who introduced H.J. Res. 73, which called for the redeployment of American forces as soon as possible. In response, Armed Services Committee chairman Duncan L. Hunter of California introduced H. Res. 571, which the Republican leadership admitted was intended to demonstrate that calls for troop withdrawal were "out of the mainstream." Democrats in turn roundly criticized the Hunter resolution as a sham that misstated Murtha's position.