The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to kill a resolution meant to halt President Trump’s war on Iran without congressional authorization, as US-Israeli airstrikes continue to pound the country.
The War Powers Resolution failed in a vote of 212-219, with just two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie (KY) and Warren Davidson (OH), supporting the measure.
Four Democrats joined Republicans in opposing the effort to reassert War Powers over the Executive: Reps. Henry Cuellar (TX), Jared F. Golden (ME), Greg Landsman (OH), and Juan Vargas (CA).
Massie, who introduced the bill, said the vote was important to lawmakers on record to see where they stand on the war. “The Iran War Powers Resolution narrowly failed, but we put everyone on record,” he wrote on X.
“We’re being told this military action could last months. That’s the exact circumstance in which the Founders intended for Congress to authorize war, but sadly, we’ve now abdicated that responsibility,” Massie added.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a sponsor of the bill, said that Republicans now “own this Middle East regime change war” due to the strong opposition among Democrats. “
The Senate defeated a parallel War Powers Resolution on Wednesday. Just one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul (KY), supported the bill, and one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (PA), crossed party lines to oppose the resolution.
Congress failed to reassert its War Powers over the Executive, even though the Trump administration hasn’t made a coherent case for why the war was launched and is escalating the conflict with no clear timeline or goals. So far, more than 1,000 Iranian civilians have been killed by US and Israeli airstrikes.
