It was the fourth time the chamber voted on a resolution directing President Trump to seek congressional authorization for military operations and the first time it succeeded.
The House adopted a resolution Wednesday directing President Donald Trump to seek congressional authorization before continuing military operations in Iran as more Republicans came out in opposition to the conflict.
It was the fourth time the chamber voted on a resolution to end the three-month war and the first time it succeeded, in a 215-208 vote.
The measure was on track to be adopted last month, after a similar measure passed in the Senate, until Republican leaders abruptly pulled the vote from the floor over concerns that the resolution would pass and deliver a rebuke to Trump.
Four Republicans — Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — joined every Democrat in supporting the measure on Wednesday.
Democrat Jared Golden of Maine, who previously opposed such measures, switched positions to vote for it.
The vote came hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio doubled down on the administration’s claims that the war had concluded and the U.S. was now conducting “completely defensive” strikes against Iran.
“It’s a fact: we’re no longer conducting sustained strikes inside of Iran to degrade their military because Epic Fury is over,” he said in testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
He called the operation, which began on Feb. 28, “hostilities” instead of a war and said the U.S. had achieved its military objectives. Bouts of fighting have continued, however, despite a ceasefire that took effect in April.
Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones at American bases in Kuwait and Bahrain earlier this week after the U.S. struck an oil tanker that it said was attempting to breach an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., cited the exchange of fire as she pressed Rubio on Wednesday on whether Operation Epic Fury had truly ended.
“The American people are not stupid, Mr. Secretary. We all know that this war is not over,” she said. “It’s now day 97 of the war that the president said he wanted to end quickly.”
Democrats and some Republicans have rejected claims by the Trump administration that hostilities had stopped with the ceasefire and there was therefore no need to abide by provisions of the 1973 War Powers Resolution.
The law requires a president to terminate the use of forces within 60 days, with a potential 30-day extension for the safe withdrawal of troops, unless Congress explicitly authorizes the military action or declares war. Presidents from both parties have deemed the law’s constraints as unconstitutional.
Rubio said last month that the Trump administration is only complying with elements of the law to maintain good relations with Congress. He told lawmakers Wednesday that the repeated introduction of war powers resolutions has likely hurt negotiations by raising hope among Iranians that Congress could remove Trump’s authority over the military.
“If you see how it’s reported on Iranian state television and things of that nature, it makes them think that somehow our hands are going to be tied and we won’t be able to do anything to them,” he said. “So, why make a deal?”
Republicans have made that same argument. Rep. Randy Fine of Florida said last month that the measures were emboldening Iran by sending the wrong message about American resolve.
“Every one of these debates, every one of these votes, gives them hope that maybe America will choose to stand with them,” Fine said. “These resolutions extend the conflict, they do not hasten it.”
But Democrats have seized on flagging efforts to make a deal to end the conflict as well as the war’s ongoing cost and impact on energy prices to make the case that Congress needs to have a say.
“Congress cannot abandon its constitutional responsibility over matters of war and peace,” Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the foreign relations panel, said last month. “We should not be reducing ourselves to be a rubber stamp.”
The Senate is expected to take the next procedural vote on the war powers resolution it advanced last month in the near future.
- Security