The House voted Thursday to reject a war powers resolution aimed at curbing President Donald Trump’s authority in the rapidly widening conflict with Iran, an outcome that underscored unease inside Congress as the fighting reshaped U.S. priorities at home and abroad. The measure failed narrowly, 212-219, following the Senate’s earlier defeat of a similar effort, according to the Associated Press.
In remarks on the House floor, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, argued that Trump needed to make a case to Congress rather than act unilaterally. “Donald Trump is not a king, and if he believes the war with Iran is in our national interest, then he must come to Congress and make the case,” Meeks said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back against limiting the president’s authority, warning that it would be “dangerous” to do so while the U.S. military is already in conflict. Johnson, a close ally of Trump, also said “We are not at war” and argued the operation was limited in scope and duration, adding that the “mission is nearly accomplished.”
Support and opposition to the resolution reflected a test of Trump’s broader approach, including whether members believed the operation should continue without congressional approval that is required for formal declarations of war. The AP reported that the vote provided a “clarifying snapshot” of political support for, and opposition to, the military action and Trump’s rationale for bypassing Congress, the body that has the constitutional power to declare war.
The debate in the chamber also produced crossover coalitions, with some Republicans joining most Democrats to support the resolution, and some Democrats joining Republicans to oppose it. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a leading critic of the move, said the framers intended Congress to decide war and argued, “The framers weren’t fooling around,” adding that “It’s up to us.”
Trump and allies framed the conflict as a defensive response to a threat, with House Republicans largely backing the president’s actions. Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and an Army veteran, thanked Trump for taking action against Iran and said the president was using constitutional authority to defend the U.S. against the “imminent threat” posed by Iran, characterizing the resolution as effectively asking “that the president do nothing.”
Administration officials, meanwhile, worked to reassure lawmakers after the start of the nearly week-old conflict. The AP said Trump and officials had spent hours behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, while Americans abroad tried to find flights out of the Middle East, as Congress weighed the war powers dispute amid reports of military casualties, including the deaths of six U.S. service members in a drone strike in Kuwait over the weekend.
Trump’s public rationale shifted as he sought support and as members questioned the administration’s plan and decision-making. The AP reported that Trump said Thursday he needed to be involved in choosing Iran’s new leader, while Johnson said the country had enough problems at home and was not focused on “nation-building.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers the war could extend eight weeks, twice as long as the president first estimated, and the AP said Trump left open the possibility of sending U.S. troops into what has largely been described as a bombing campaign.
In Congress, some lawmakers questioned the administration’s explanations. Rep. Thomas Massie, an outlier within the Republican Party, pressed lawmakers by saying that, in his view, the administration could not provide a straightforward answer for why it launched what he described as a preemptive war. Other members raised different concerns, including Rep. Ro Khanna, who joined Massie in pushing the war powers resolution forward, and Rep. Yassamin Ansari, who said she opposed Iran’s regime but worried that a democratic transition never seemed to be a priority for Trump or officials briefing Congress.
The House vote came as Republicans and Democrats continued to argue over the constitutional balance of powers while the conflict evolved. The AP said the resolution, if signed into law, would have immediately halted Trump’s ability to conduct the war unless Congress approved the military action, a step the president likely would veto.