WASHINGTON, D.C. – The latest effort to curb U.S. President Donald Trump’s power to go to war with Iran was narrowly defeated in the House of Representatives.
Just one vote on Thursday split the latest war powers resolution, with 213 votes for and 214 against.
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The House vote did show greater unity within the Democratic Party and a growing sense that the president is acting beyond his constitutional authority.
Three party members who opposed a similar resolution in March – Juan Vargas, Greg Landsman and Henry Cuellar – now support the bill.
Only one Republican, co-sponsor Thomas Massey, voted in favor of passing the resolution, and one Democrat, Jared Golden, voted against it.
A second Republican, Warren Davidson, supported curbing Trump’s powers in a vote last month but voted “present” as a way to avoid taking a position.
Republican Nancy Mace, who has increasingly questioned the war and its high cost, also did not vote Thursday.
The House defeat came a day after a similar resolution failed in the Senate by a vote of 52-47.
The twin votes underscored Republicans’ continued wariness about reining in President Trump’s war on Iran and military engagement abroad more generally.
Following Thursday’s failed vote, Democrats accused Republicans of giving unlimited power to President Trump, who launched an attack on Iran in cooperation with Israel on February 28. The war has continued for six weeks since then, and ceasefire negotiations are underway.
“With military personnel killed and gas prices soaring, America is in a worse position than we were before,” Democratic Rep. Bill Foster said in a post on social media Platform X.
“Congress cannot relinquish its authority as co-branches of government and allow this rogue president to continue waging war unilaterally.”
Under the U.S. Constitution, only Congress can declare war, but the president can take military action in cases of immediate self-defense.
The Trump administration has argued that Iran’s actions since the 1979 Iranian revolution constitute such a threat. But critics say the US and Israeli attacks on Iran are unfounded and violate international law.
Republican Brian Mast, speaking before the vote, pointed to the two-week cessation of fighting reached last week (now extended to April 22) and denounced the latest resolution as “insane.”
Mast also criticized the “hypocrisy” of Democrats opposing President Trump’s war on Iran, pointing to foreign attacks carried out under Democratic presidents in countries such as Yemen.
“When Joe Biden was responding to the merchant ship attack, we were fine. We didn’t need military force,” Mast said.
Ceasefire negotiations over the Iran war continue. The United States and Iran are open to renewed talks in Pakistan after initial talks over the weekend failed to yield a breakthrough.
There was movement on at least one major obstacle. It is Iran’s insistence that the current ceasefire must also apply to Israel’s ongoing invasion of Lebanon.
On Thursday, President Trump announced a 10-day pause in fighting in Lebanon. The deal was signed between the Lebanese and Israeli governments, but it was not immediately clear whether the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah had signed onto the plan.
Other issues remain unresolved, including control of the Strait of Hormuz and the future of Iran’s nuclear program.
There were also indications that the United States was preparing to resume military operations if the ceasefire with Iran was not maintained. Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the United States is prepared to resume attacks on Iranian energy facilities, but the Trump administration is prioritizing diplomacy.
“If the new Iranian regime makes a bad choice and does not agree to the agreement, our military is fully prepared to resume combat operations,” he told reporters.
In a statement responding to the House vote, the anti-war group Demand Progress criticized both Republicans and Democrats for failing to pass the War Powers Resolution.
“Congress has once again failed in its constitutional responsibility by refusing to stop this unauthorized and dangerous war,” wrote senior policy adviser Cavan Karazuan.
The group also questioned why lawmakers did not vote last week, even though President Trump threatened widespread destruction in Iran shortly before announcing the ceasefire. “The entire civilization will perish tonight,” the president wrote on social media at the time.
“We urge members of Congress, both Democratic and Republican, to support sustained diplomatic efforts to resolve this conflict,” Karazian added.
“The American people overwhelmingly reject this war and want a diplomatic end to it.”
