House Republicans Cancel Iran War Powers Vote, Delaying Measure Until June

House Republicans abruptly canceled a planned war powers vote aimed at ending President Donald Trump’s conflict in Iran unless he gains authorization from Congress, delaying the measure into June.

“House Republicans on Thursday pulled a vote on a measure that would compel President Trump to withdraw from , delaying action on the issue as the Trump administration struggles to maintain congressional backing for the war”

CBS News

Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, who sponsored the resolution, said, “We had the votes to pass it today. Every Democrat was on board, we had the sufficient number of Republicans on board,” and he argued the vote “procedurally” must happen when lawmakers return after the Memorial Day recess in early June.

CBS News

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters the vote was delayed to allow absent lawmakers time to return and participate, while House Speaker Mike Johnson did not answer media questions as he left the House chamber.

The dispute is playing out as the House and Senate grapple with the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which provides presidents 60 days to obtain congressional authorization for an ongoing conflict.

Meeks said Republicans were “playing a political game,” and NPR reported the House had scheduled the vote but GOP leaders declined to hold it once it became clear they lacked the numbers to defeat the bill.

Democratic leaders including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar described the cancellation as “cowardly” and accused Republican leadership of having “failed” the country.

In a joint statement, Jeffries, Clark, and Aguilar said, “For nearly three months, Donald Trump has forced America and our men and women in uniform into a reckless and costly war of choice in Iran,” and they argued the conflict had continued “without clear objectives, an exit strategy, public support or the authorization required by the United States Congress.”

CNN

CNN reported that Meeks told reporters the vote was delayed until lawmakers returned from the Memorial Day recess, and he said, “We had a vote because of this president’s war of choice that was going to pass, we had the votes without question, and they knew it.”

CNN also reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson did not answer questions from reporters as he exited the House chamber, while NPR said the actions by congressional leaders showed Republicans were struggling to maintain political backing for Trump’s handling of the war.

The House vote cancellation came as the Senate advanced a similar resolution earlier in the week, with four GOP senators supporting it and three others absent, according to NPR.

With the House recessed until June, the next scheduled opportunity for the war powers resolution is tied to when lawmakers return from the Memorial Day recess, and NPR reported the planned votes were delayed into June.

“The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, was forced to undertake a maneuver to prevent the government from suffering a major defeat and to see a law restricting Donald Trump’s war powers approved”

Folha de S.Paulo

The White House argues the War Powers Resolution requirements no longer apply because of the ceasefire with Iran, while the House dispute centers on whether the 60-day timeline has expired, as Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said, “We’re past 60 days so it’s got to be brought to us to vote on.”

Time reported that Trump warned military officials to “be prepared to go forward with a full, large-scale assault of Iran, on a moment's notice,” if an acceptable deal was not reached, and it said Washington and Tehran remained at an impasse with peace talks stalled.

NPR reported that the lone Democrat who voted against the war powers resolution last week, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, said he will vote in favor next time, and it said Meeks expected the votes to be “locked in.”

The stakes described by the sources include a potential legal showdown over who has final authority over military conflicts, as the legislation before the House is a concurrent resolution that lawmakers said would take effect without Trump’s signature if it passed both chambers, according to CBS News.