House narrowly rejects resolution directing Trump to end ‘hostilities’ in Iran

The Republican-led House narrowly rejected a Democratic push Thursday to block President Donald Trump from ordering further strikes on Iran, a day after the Senate turned back a similar measure seeking to rein in the president as the unpopular war approaches the two-month mark.

The measure was defeated 214-213 on a largely party-line vote, with one lawmaker voting present.

Only one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted against the resolution.

The resolution sought to direct Trump to “remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran” except as necessary to defend against an imminent attack. It was a test of lawmakers’ support for the conflict since Trump threatened last week to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization” and then hours later agreed to a two-week ceasefire.

Rep. Gregory W. Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during debate on the measure that Trump had “dragged the American people into a war of choice launched without congressional authorization.”

“No matter whether you agree with the war or not … the Constitution grants the Congress, not the president, the power to declare the war,” Meeks said. “Don’t take my word for it. Even Donald Trump acknowledged this, saying, and I quote: ‘As a war, you’re supposed to get approval from Congress.’”

Rep. Brian Mast (R., Fla.), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said during the debate that Meeks was being “hypocritical” and argued that President Joe Biden had been “engaged against Iran” because of an “imminent threat” of attacks — the same reason the Trump White House has given for military action.

Trump, Mast said, is “defending against an imminent threat” of nuclear warfare from Iran. He accused his Democratic colleagues of “not paying attention to national security at all.”

After the vote, Mast suggested that more House Republicans could support the next push for a war powers resolution if Trump doesn’t formally seek congressional authorization for the war after its 60-day mark.

“My speculation is you would have a different vote count after 60 days,” Mast said.

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 — the law Democrats used to force the votes — requires presidents to remove U.S. forces from any conflict that Congress has not authorized within 60 days. Trump can obtain a 30-day extension if he certifies that it is an “unavoidable military necessity.”

Trump predicted shortly after the war started that it would be over within four or five weeks, but the 60-day deadline, which arrives May 1, is rapidly approaching. Meeks on Tuesday noted that the White House is also going to “have to come to Congress for the money” soon — a reference to an expected request from the White House for additional funding to continue military action against Iran.

A procedural vote on a war powers resolution in the Republican-led Senate failed 52-47 on Wednesday in a vote that broke largely along party lines.

An earlier attempt at a war powers resolution failed narrowly in the House last month, with two House Republicans voting for it and four Democrats opposing it.

Meeks told reporters earlier this week that some Republican members had been contemplating backing the resolution. But ultimately not enough support materialized. Meeks said it was important regardless to get lawmakers on the record about the war.

Trump could also face more difficult war powers votes in the Senate if the war stretches past 60 days.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) did not say Wednesday whether he wants Trump to seek authorization from Congress before the 60-day mark, but he has called for the administration to articulate how it plans to end the war as the deadline approaches.

“They need a plan for how to wind this down and how to get an outcome that actually leads to a safer, more secure Middle East,” Thune told reporters.

Some Senate Republicans have gone further. Sen. John Curtis (R., Utah) has said he will not support more funding for military operations against Iran unless Congress declares war. Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) said Congress needs to authorize the conflict if it exceeds 60 days or if the U.S. deploys ground troops, which Trump has not ruled out.

“I have been clear from the beginning of this military operation that the President’s power is not unlimited as Commander in Chief, as the Constitution gives Congress an essential role in matters of war and peace,” Collins said in a statement.