Congress

War Powers Vote Is the Latest Embarrassment for House Speaker Mike Johnson

Johnson is seemingly incapable of standing up to the Trump administration, even when one of Congress' core responsibilities is at stake.

Eric Boehm | 5.22.2026 12:35 PM

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(Michael Brochstein/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom)

Faced with the prospect of having to uphold one of Congress' core responsibilities, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R–La.) took the coward's way out.

He cut and ran.

House Republican leaders canceled a vote Thursday night on a bill that called for halting President Donald Trump's war with Iran. With some Republicans poised to break ranks and others absent, Politico reports, the war powers resolution likely would have passed—and even without Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.), an outspoken critic of the war who had not yet returned to Washington after suffering a defeat in Tuesday's primary.

With the vote canceled, the House recessed until June, thus "avoiding a political embarrassment to President Donald Trump," notes Politico.

Instead, it is Johnson who........

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