House Narrowly Defeats Resolution to Limit Trump’s Iran War Powers
House rejects War Powers Resolution 213-214, as three Democrats flip to support limiting Trump’s Iran military actions while negotiations continue during ceasefire.
WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA — The U.S. House narrowly rejected a War Powers Resolution Thursday that would have required President Donald Trump to seek congressional authorization before taking further military action in Iran, with the measure failing by a single vote.
The resolution failed 213-214, with one Republican voting present, marking a slight shift from the 212-219 defeat the measure suffered in early March. The vote came as the United States and Iran remain in a ceasefire while negotiating security issues.
Three Democrats switched their positions to support the resolution brought to the floor by Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. Democratic Reps. Greg Landsman of Ohio, Juan Vargas of California, and Henry Cuellar of Texas all flipped to vote in favor of limiting Trump’s war powers.
Golden Remains Lone Democratic Holdout
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, remained the only Democrat to oppose the resolution, arguing it would undermine ongoing negotiations with Iran.
“The purported aim of this and other war powers resolutions is to stop the hostilities. Thankfully, the United States and Iran are currently in a ceasefire, and we are negotiating over questions of national security and international order,” Golden said in a statement following the vote.
Golden emphasized maintaining leverage in talks with Iran. “I believe we must maintain a strong negotiation position over Iran’s nuclear program, freedom of movement in the international waters at the Strait of Hormuz, and how to achieve a durable peace between our two nations,” he said.
Republican Support Shows Cracks
As he did in early March, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., supported curtailing Trump’s military operations in the Middle East without further congressional approval, crossing party lines to back the Democratic-led measure.
However, the resolution lost ground among Republicans when Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, switched from his “yes” vote last month to voting “present” Thursday, effectively removing his support for the measure.
The House vote occurred one day after the Senate rejected a similar proposal for the fourth time, with that chamber’s vote margin remaining unchanged except for a couple of absences.
The congressional action comes as Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon on his Truth Social platform, according to the Tennessee Lookout reporting.
