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House rebukes Trump
The US House of Representatives passed a resolution to rein in President Donald Trump’s powers to attack Iran without congressional authorisation in a 215-208 vote on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
“The United States House of Representatives has passed a resolution to rein in President Donald Trump’s powers to attack Iran without congressional authorisation”
The measure came after the war began in February and after Trump did not seek congressional approval, attempting to label it as a “skirmish” or a “short-term excursion”.
The Washington Post said the 215-208 vote “marked the first time such a measure has cleared the House or the Senate on a final vote since the start of the conflict more than three months ago,” framing it as pressure on the administration to end the unpopular war.
The AP reported that the House resolution would halt the U.S. military action against Iran but “does not immediately stop the war,” sending it to the Senate where four Republican senators last month joined Democrats in advancing a similar measure.
NBC News described the House action as a “rare rebuke,” with the Iran war powers resolution offered by Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York directing Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress votes to declare war or authorizes using military force.
Republicans split publicly
Al Jazeera said the vote included four Republicans—Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky—who “splintered away from the Republican establishment to pass the bill.”
Massie marked the occasion with a message on social media, writing: “The People’s House is sending a message: end this war.”
The BBC reported that Republicans Thomas Massie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Barrett, and Warren Davidson joined a united front from Democrats to pass Wednesday's resolution, and it quoted Barrett saying, “Congress alone declares war, that's something certainly we need to be protective of.”
CNN described House Speaker Mike Johnson’s contention that reining in the president’s powers during negotiations could be “dangerous,” while Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick defended his vote as following the law.
The Washington Post framed the House action as ratcheting up pressure on the administration, noting that the Senate advanced a similar resolution last month on a procedural vote and that Wednesday’s House vote was the first successful final vote since the conflict began.
What comes next
The resolution’s path runs through the Senate, where the AP said the Senate has yet to take a final vote, and the BBC added that the House resolution still needs approval from the Republican-controlled US Senate.
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Even if the Senate approved it, the BBC said Trump could veto the measure, which would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers to nullify.
NPR described the vote as “mostly symbolic,” saying Democrats have been unable to pass a war powers resolution through the Republican-led Senate and that even if it passed, it would almost certainly be vetoed by President Trump.
The Guardian said the vote sends the resolution to the Senate “where the chamber must promptly take up the measure under the war powers law,” and it tied the dispute to the 1973 war powers act’s requirement that a president seek congressional approval after hostilities have continued for that length of time.
In the background of the congressional fight, CNN reported that Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatened an attack if Beirut comes under Israeli fire, quoting him: “if Beirut were attacked, we would not tolerate it under any circumstances.”
