US House passes war powers resolution to curb Trump’s authority in Iran | Donald Trump
The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump on Wednesday for his war against Iran, as representatives backed a move to force Trump to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces.
The House voted 215 to 208 in favor, with four Republicans voting with Democrats.
Wednesday’s vote came nearly two weeks after House Republicans canceled a previously scheduled vote on the grounds that they did not have the votes to defeat it.
The Senate voted last month to advance a resolution forcing Trump to seek congressional approval after four Republican senators rebelled and voted with Democrats.
The latest vote comes as efforts to find a negotiated solution to the three-month-old conflict have yet to bear fruit, despite repeated claims by Trump and his senior officials that the deal was barely negotiated and that Iran was “desperate” to reach a deal.
Sporadic clashes have occurred amid a shaky ceasefire that has been in place since early April as Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil supplies pass, and the United States maintains a naval blockade against Iranian shipping.
Polls consistently show that public support for the war is low; There are fears among Republicans that anger over rising fuel costs triggered by the war will hurt the party in November’s midterm congressional elections.
Trump has already attacked and punished Republicans who criticized the war. Thomas Massie, a representative from Kentucky and an opponent of the war, lost the party primary last month to an ally of the president who was encouraged to run by Trump; Massie was angered by Massie’s leading role in pressuring the justice department to release Jeffrey Epstein.
The vote comes after Capitol Hill Republicans have shown in recent days that they are more willing than ever to challenge Trump.
Senate Republicans forced the president to drop his request for $1 billion in security funding for the White House ballroom project and abandon a proposed $1.8 billion “counterproliferation fund” that would have led to taxpayer-funded compensation for Trump’s political allies — including criminals convicted of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
