House Republicans sink effort to rein in Trump’s attacks on Iran

House Republicans on Thursday beat back legislation designed to rein in U.S. military operations in Iran, marking a victory for President Trump and a blow for those hoping to reassert Congress’s unique powers to wage war.

The vote was 212-219, with just two Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Warren Davidson (Ohio) — hopping the aisle to support the resolution, while four Democrats broke with their party to oppose it.

The vote was largely symbolic, coming one day after the Senate killed a similar resolution along similar partisan lines. And some observers had questioned the Democrats’ strategy of forcing the vote, since failure of the resolution is its own roundabout form of authorization for Trump to continue the strikes. 

Democratic leaders dismissed those concerns, arguing for the importance of fighting to reestablish Congress’s war powers as defined by the Constitution — and putting lawmakers on record for perpetuity. 

“The Constitution is not ambiguous on this subject,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters in the Capitol shortly before the vote. “There’s no evidence that there was an imminent threat to the United States of America.”

The war powers resolution, sponsored by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), would force Trump to terminate operations in Iran until the administration can win congressional approval.

Most Republicans rejected the effort, saying Trump, like every other president, has the authority under the War Powers Act to conduct limited military strikes without a formal OK from Congress. They also warned that forcing Trump to quit the campaign now would leave Iran’s current regime in power (albeit weakened), thereby heightening the security risks for the U.S. and its assets and allies in the region.

Heading into the vote, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) characterized the Massie-Khanna resolution as a “dangerous idea.” 

“It would empower our enemies, it would knee-cap our own forces, and it would take the ability of the U.S. military and the commander and chief away from completing this critical mission to keep everybody safe,” Johnson said.  

“Congress has a constitutional right to exercise its oversight authority and we will, but we also have a duty and obligation not to undercut our own national security.”

The defectors have been a topic of great focus, and Democratic leaders have spent much of the week racing to rally their troops behind the resolution as a show of unity in the face of military operations they deem to be both unjustified and unconstitutional. 

The defections also highlighted the prickly nature of war votes in Congress, especially when they relate to Israel and the broader Middle East. The Democratic defectors were a mix of pro-Israel lawmakers concerned about the continued threat from Iran if U.S. forces pull out, and vulnerable centrists who are facing tough reelection contests in November’s midterm elections. 

The two Republicans who bucked their party, Massie and Davidson, both cited the Article I stipulation that Congress alone has the power to declare war. 

“The Constitution is clear,” Davidson told CNN Thursday morning. “Wars of choice are declared by Congress.” 

In the end, though, the vote was overwhelmingly partisan, and the outcome was expected in a chamber controlled by Trump’s Republican allies, who have defended both the wisdom of Trump’s strikes on Iran, as essential to national security, and his authority to launch them without congressional approval.

Much of the debate has hinged on semantics. 

Although Trump and some top administration officials have referred to the operations as “war,” they’ve also claimed it’s not — a message that’s been adopted by Republicans on Capitol Hill. 

“We’re not at war right now,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “We’re four days into a very specific, clear mission — an operation.”

The conflicting statements have not been overlooked by Democrats, who maintain that the sheer level of the attacks, combined with warnings from Trump that the operations could last for weeks, meets any reasonable definition of war.

“How do we know that? because President Trump says it’s a war. The secretary of defense has said it is a war. And our Constitution is very clear,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) a former Air Force attorney who taught courses on the laws of war. 

“Only Congress can declare war.”

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