House Defies Trump, Passes First War Powers Resolution to End the Iran War
In a 215-208 vote, four Republicans joined Democrats to demand the president pull U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran. Trump dismissed the rebuke as a 'meaningless vote.'
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to direct President Donald Trump to halt further U.S. military action against Iran, passing a war powers resolution for the first time since the conflict erupted more than three months ago and delivering a rare bipartisan rebuke to the commander in chief.
The measure passed 215 to 208, with four Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Warren Davidson of Ohio — crossing party lines to join every Democrat present. The resolution directs the president to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress votes to declare war or formally authorizes the use of military force.
It marked the first time such a resolution has cleared either chamber on a final vote since the start of a war that has grown deeply unpopular with the public. Lawmakers in both parties have spent weeks arguing that Congress, not the president, holds the constitutional power to commit the nation to a sustained military campaign. "Congress alone declares war," supporters repeated throughout the floor debate, invoking the 1973 War Powers Act that the measure is built upon.
For all its symbolism, the vote is unlikely to change the trajectory of the conflict. Democrats have tried repeatedly and failed to push a companion war powers resolution through the Republican-controlled Senate, and even if the measure cleared both chambers, the White House has signaled Trump would veto it. The administration has openly questioned the constitutionality of the War Powers Act, arguing it improperly constrains the president's authority as commander in chief.
Trump lashed out at the outcome in a social media post the following day. "Yesterday, in a meaningless vote, the House voted, 4 bad Republicans and all of the Dumocrats, to limit my War Powers, right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran," he wrote, casting the rebuke as an obstacle to diplomacy he says is already underway.
The vote came as the broader regional picture remained volatile. Israel and Iran have repeatedly traded strikes and pulled back from the brink in recent weeks, with both sides warning they are prepared to resume attacks. Against that backdrop, the resolution amounted to a message from Capitol Hill that a growing coalition of lawmakers wants an off-ramp — and wants a say in whether American forces stay in the fight. Whether the Senate ever takes it up, and whether it survives a near-certain veto, will determine if Wednesday's vote becomes anything more than a statement of principle.
Originally reported by NPR.