Democrats poised to escalate pressure on GOP with repeated votes on Iran war powers

House Democrats are ready to escalate their effort to end the Iran war.

Since the strikes began on Feb. 28, the lower chamber has voted only twice on war power resolutions, which would require President Trump to terminate the military campaign against Tehran unless Congress explicitly approves it.

That pace is about to change dramatically.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) is weighing plans to force a vote on his war powers resolution as soon as next week. And a handful of liberal Democrats are poised to follow suit, introducing similar but separate resolutions this week that they intend to bring to the floor in rapid-fire succession in May and beyond. 

Whether they have enough GOP support to pass any of the measures remains uncertain after the first two attempts failed. But short of passage, the Democrats’ aim is to force a series of lengthy floor debates on the Iran conflict, which is unpopular with voters nationally, and to put Republican lawmakers on the record when it comes to asserting Congress’s authority to declare war.

“This is one of the few ways that we can force some debate and accountability,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.).  

With that in mind, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) unveiled a new war powers resolution on Tuesday. Huffman followed with one of his own on Wednesday. And Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) followed again on Thursday with a third proposal with identical intent.

“We want a number of these, with the Progressive Caucus, so that we can call for a vote over and over,” Khanna said.

The strategy, being led by the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), is designed to shine a light on an unpopular war while intensifying the pressure on House Republicans — particularly those........

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