WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to curtail President Trump’s ability to wage war with Iran in one of the last roll calls before lawmakers broke for a five-week recess.
The lower chamber adopted the so-called war powers resolution demanding Trump wind down the military campaign against the Islamic Republic by a 214-208 vote.
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Tom Barrett (R-Mich.), Warren Davidson ( R-Ohio), and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) joined all 210 Democrats in backing the measure, the second war powers resolution to pass the chamber in recent months.
The vote follows the deaths of four American service members in attacks by Iran over the weekend and came amid fears that the Pentagon is burning through cash and needs more resources from Congress to keep up the war effort.
The largely symbolic resolution, which was introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), puts Republicans on the spot before they go home to their districts for the next several weeks and campaign for the midterms.
The measure called for Trump “to remove the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, including potential ground forces in a combat role or used for occupation.”
Some Republican lawmakers have publicly signaled anxiety that the war in Iran could pose a serious liability for the GOP in the Nov. 3 elections.
”We got to wrap it up,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) admitted at a press conference this week.
The Trump administration had negotiated a preliminary memorandum of understanding with Iran to cease hostilities last month, but that collapsed after Tehran continued carrying out attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, which drew a military response from the US.
Wednesday evening marked the 12th straight night of US bombings in Iran.
Under the War Powers Act of 1973, presidents are restricted from carrying out military actions abroad for more than 60 days without congressional consent. The law makes room for an additional 30-day extension and requires the president to notify Congress about such actions.
The War Powers Act’s constitutionality is untested and disputed by the administration.
Trump notified Congress on July 10 about renewed military action against Iran after the cease-fire collapsed.
