Democrats, who overwhelmingly backed the resolution, warned that Congress is ceding its constitutional war-making authority as the United States deepens its involvement in an unresolved Middle East conflict; Republicans, nearly unified in opposition, argued that invoking the War Powers Act against Trump was hypocritical given the absence of such challenges during the Biden administration’s year-long operations against Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen.
WASHINGTON — The House voted 213-214 on Thursday to reject a resolution requiring President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the war with Iran unless Congress authorizes military action, one day after the Senate defeated a similar measure.
The back-to-back rejections arrived as the War Powers Act’s 60-day authorization deadline approaches at the end of April — a clock that began running when U.S. and Israeli forces struck Iran on Feb. 28. A fragile ceasefire is now in its second week.
Democrats warn of an open-ended conflict
“We’re standing at the edge of a cliff and Congress must act before the president pushes off,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. “Every day we delay, we inch closer to a conflict with no exit ramp.”
Democrats highlighted what they described as mounting costs of the conflict: the billions of dollars spent, at least 13 service members killed, soaring fuel prices, and fractures with long-standing allies who do not support Trump’s actions.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the financial toll was already visible at home. “Gas prices at home are up to $7 in my home state, and families are hurting,” she said. “Another 10,000 U.S. troops are being sent in to join 50,000 already stationed in the Middle East with absolutely no strategy, no plan and no exit.”
Democrats promised to continue pressing war powers challenges through additional votes in the coming weeks.
Republicans call challenge hypocritical
Republicans largely closed ranks behind Trump, with Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, arguing that Democrats had applied no equivalent scrutiny to President Joe Biden’s year-long operations against Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen in 2024.
“When Joe Biden was responding to merchant marine vessels being attacked, it was OK. No war power needed. It went on for about a year,” Mast said. “President Trump responds — war power, war power, war power. … That’s the hypocrisy.”
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., framed Trump’s military posture as a matter of deterrence. “President Donald Trump has sent a message that those who threaten the United States and our partners will be ultimately held accountable,” Wilson said.
Near-party-line vote, with two exceptions
The vote split almost entirely along party lines. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote for removing U.S. forces from the war. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to vote against the measure.
The result was closer than the first House war powers vote in early March, which failed 212-219.
The 60-day clock
Under the War Powers Act of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize the use of military force within 60 days of the start of hostilities, with a potential 30-day extension. For the Iran war, that deadline arrives at the end of April. Lawmakers have made clear they want the administration to present a plan for the conflict’s end before that deadline passes.