US House passes war powers resolution to curb Trump’s authority in Iran

The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces.

The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats. The dissident Republicans were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan.

Wednesday’s vote came nearly two weeks after House Republicans cancelled an earlier scheduled vote, on the grounds that they lacked the votes to defeat it.

The vote sends the resolution to the Senate. A handful of Senate Republican defectors joined Democrats last month to advance a similar resolution forcing Trump to seek congressional approval after four Republican senators rebelled and voted with the Democrats.

“Following repeated attempts to get sycophants in the Republican-controlled House to join us, House Democrats successfully passed our war powers resolution today to stand up for the American people and hold Donald Trump accountable,” the top three House Democrats – Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Pete Aguilar of California – said in a joint statement. “It is now time for Senate Republicans to do the right thing.”

It was the fourth time the House had voted on a resolution to rein in Trump’s power to continue the conflict, which has now been running for more than 90 days.

The 90-day threshold is important because the 1973 War Powers Resolution lays down that a president must seek congressional approval to continue waging war after hostilities have continued for that length of time. The White House has rejected that argument, citing a temporary ceasefire that has been in place since 8 April – although it has been broken several times by the US, Israel and Iran.

The vote’s impact is largely symbolic, as it is unclear whether the House version, which is a concurrent resolution and does not need to be signed by the president, carries the force of law, even if it also passes in the Senate. But it was a striking demonstration of the nascent willingness among a segment of Republicans to defy Trump, who has kept a vise-like grip on the party on Capitol Hill, through his willingness to exact retribution against dissenters.

The latest vote comes as efforts aimed at reaching a negotiated settlement to the three-month conflict have yet to bear fruit, despite repeated claims by Trump and his most senior officials that an agreement is almost negotiated, and that Iran is “desperate” to reach a deal.

Sporadic hostilities have been taking place amid a shaky ceasefire that has been in place since early April, while Iran has closed the strait of Hormuz – a vital waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil supplies typically travel – and the US has implemented a naval blockade against Iranian vessels.

Polls have consistently shown low public support for the war, amid fear among Republicans that anger over rising fuel costs that it has triggered will cost the party in November’s congressional midterm elections.

Trump has already attacked and punished Republicans who have criticized the war. Massie lost a party primary last month to an ally of the president who had been encouraged to run by Trump, who was angered by Massie’s leading role in pressing the justice department to release files on Jeffrey Epstein.

Wednesday’s vote comes as Capitol Hill Republicans have shown more willingness to defy Trump in recent days.

Republicans in the Senate have forced the president to withdraw a demand for $1bn in security funding for his White House ballroom project, and to abandon a proposed $1.8bn “anti-weaponization fund” that would have seen Trump’s political allies – including offenders convicted over the 6 January 2021 assault on the US Capitol – awarded compensation at taxpayers’ expense.