House Republicans cancel vote on war powers resolution to end US war in Iran | House of Representatives
House Republicans canceled a vote scheduled for Thursday on a war powers resolution aimed at ending the U.S. war with Iran; this was a measure that likely would have advanced had it been put to a vote.
This cancellation, which prevented Donald Trump from political embarrassment, was the latest signal that Congress’s support for the US president’s war is waning.
The House’s three top Democrats, Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar, called Republican leadership “cowardly” for canceling the vote.
“For nearly three months, Donald Trump forced America and our men and women in uniform into a reckless and costly choice for war in Iran. Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth led us to war without clear goals, an exit strategy, public support, or the authority required by the U.S. Congress,” Democrats said in a statement.
“The Republican-controlled House continues to act like a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump administration. Republicans cowardly withdrew a scheduled vote on the War Powers Resolution, legislation that would have passed with bipartisan support and required the President to end the conflict in the Middle East,” they added.
The vote has been delayed until MPs return from recess in June, but the resolution looks likely to pass then.
Accordingly PolicyPhiladelphia-area Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who left his party last week to vote on the latest Iran war powers resolution and came under attack from Donald Trump on Wednesday, said the delay would not prevent the resolution from passing soon. “The next time they bring it, it goes away,” he said.
Among the House Republicans who were not present Thursday but are expected to be present when the resolution comes up for a vote in June was Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who has criticized the joint U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Massie lost the primary this week to a Trump-backed candidate; The candidate was spurred to run after the president was angered by Massie’s role in pushing the Justice Department to release investigative files on late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with whom Trump socialized for nearly two decades.
Earlier this week, four Republicans in the Senate joined Democrats to advance the war powers bill. This was the eighth time the legislature tried to move the bill forward.
