House adopts another war powers resolution to curb Trump’s Iran war

For the second time in as many months, the House voted to curb President Donald Trump’s authority in Iran.  Politically, Democrats think it means lawmakers may finally be ready to stand up to Trump on the war. Practically, it means very little. On Thursday, the House adopted a war powers resolution directing the U.S. to cease hostilities with Iran, as Washington’s war with Tehran reaches the 145-day mark. The measure cleared 214-208, with four Republicans joining all Democrats in support. Reps. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Tom Barrett, R-Mich., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., supported the resolution. Even though it was another political rebuke of the president, the vote won’t actually change much. The legislation is a concurrent resolution, so even if the Senate approves the same version, the measure won’t go to Trump’s desk for signature. The resolution, therefore, won’t carry the force of law. The same scenario played out last month, and the measure proved powerless against Trump’s whims. And while the House vote may send a message that lawmakers are growing tired of the war in Iran — as are Americans, according to recent polls — and members want to know when it’s going to end, Congress on Thursday did not exactly offer a unified front. Just two hours after the House adopted their resolution, the Senate failed to advance its own war powers measure. In a 47-49 vote, senators failed to discharge an Iran war powers resolution, with only one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, joining Democrats in support. (One Democrat — Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — voted against the motion.) Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who voted in favor of an Iran war powers resolution in June, voted no. And Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who also had previously voted in favor of at least one Iran war powers resolution, did not vote. While the failed Senate vote just further solidifies that Congress won’t be imposing restrictions on Trump for his war in Iran — at least not yet — House Democrats were still taking a victory lap Thursday.“This is a vote of conscience,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who introduced the latest resolution in the House. “This is a vote that requires us to find the strength to do what is right for the American people and to send the clearest, even stronger, message to this president of the United States that the United States Congress, the House of Representatives, is reasserting our authority over war. This war must end.” This was the House’s fifth time voting on a measure to rein in the Trump administration’s military actions in Iran, but only the second time successfully adopting the resolution. The first time it was adopted, in early June, the resolution advanced with the backing of four House Republicans. This time, it was the same thing. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he’s exploring “all legal avenues” after both chambers adopted his resolution in late June. On Thursday, Meeks announced he would be introducing a resolution to call on the speaker to sue the Trump White House, telling reporters, “I’m gonna force a vote on that so that we can now go to the courts and sue the administration for not following the will of Congress.” MS NOW is seeking further clarity on how the measure will work. The vote came to fruition nearly five months to the day since the U.S. first struck Iran, prompting exchanged fire between the two countries, the start — and swift stop — of negotiations between the nations, and elevated gas prices as Tehran cuts off activity in the Strait of Hormuz. The war, however, reached a new phase this week, when four U.S. service members involved in the Iran war were killed, bringing the total number of American casualties to 18. Three Army soldiers were killed by Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan and one Army soldier died after an Iranian drone detonated after being downed in Iraq. Trump escalated his rhetoric on Wednesday, warning on Truth Social that if Iran shootings at any ships in the Strait of Hormuz — be it by missile, rocket, drone or any other weapon — the U.S. “will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran.” Already in the past two weeks, Democrats have begun to turn to other options to try to bring an end to the conflict — including derailing the annual, typically bipartisan defense policy bill in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats are demanding the legislation include guardrails on the conflict.  On Wednesday, all but six House Democrats voted against their chamber’s version of the defense bill — a total which, if those Democrats had went with the rest of their party, the normally bipartisan measure would have failed.