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House rebukes Iran war
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a war powers resolution on Wednesday to halt President Donald Trump from taking further military action against Iran, voting 215-208 after four Republicans joined Democrats.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had tried to prevent the outcome by shutting down floor action two weeks ago when the resolution was on the verge of approval, but the measure still cleared the House as the conflict had been underway since February.
Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said “Enough is enough,” and argued “It is time for the president to do the right thing,” citing “suffering at the gas pump” and “suffering at the supermarkets.”
The resolution would not immediately stop the war but would provide a symbolic step against further military action, with the next move in the Senate where the measure still needs approval and could face Trump’s veto.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing that the Iranians would think the administration’s “hands are going to be tied” if Congress approved a war powers resolution.
Republicans split, Democrats press
The BBC reported that the 215-208 vote succeeded after four Republicans joined Democrats in a rare public show of disapproval of the war, which began in February, and said the House resolution still needs approval from the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate.
Republican Tom Barrett of Michigan said, “Congress alone declares war, that's something certainly we need to be protective of,” and told reporters, “I vote my conscience for what I think is right and willing to accept that.”
Fox News described the same 215-208 outcome as a rare House defeat for Trump, with Democrats joining a handful of Republicans to “withdraw troops from using military force against Iran absent congressional authorization.”
Fox News also quoted House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., calling the vote “just a total BS vote,” and said he argued it would weaken the president’s negotiating position.
NPR said the House vote was mostly symbolic and that even if the measure passed in Congress, it would almost certainly be vetoed by President Trump, while also noting that Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., said after the vote, “we have to follow the law.”
Next steps and fallout
The House resolution next goes to the Senate, where the BBC said it is unlikely to fully curb military action even if successful, because Trump could veto the measure and would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers to nullify it.
NPR said the War Powers Act gives the president 60 days to end hostilities if there has been no congressional authorization, while also stating that Congress can end hostilities by voting on a resolution subject to presidential veto.
The AP reported that while a ceasefire was declared in April, it remains uneasy and uncertain, and said talks for a more durable end to the fighting have dragged while Israel’s broadening war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon complicated negotiations.
In the same House vote series, the AP said the House also voted Wednesday on another Democratic-led effort, a procedural step toward a measure that would authorize U.S. support for Ukraine’s military operations and help reconstruct the war-torn country.
Politico framed the House vote as capping Trump’s congressional losing streak and said it further stymied the White House’s political priorities during a week when the GOP had already scuttled several of the president’s goals.
