Democrats plan to force Iran war powers vote next week
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffires (D-NY) speaks during a news conference regarding the government shutdown at the U.S. Capitol on October 8, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Democrats in Congress will vote next week on a war powers resolution on Iran, Democratic leaders announced Thursday, as President Donald Trump mounts a massive military buildup in the region. The decision will limit Trump’s ability to conduct military action there.
Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., have introduced a measure known as a war powers resolution that would force the administration to seek congressional approval before taking any action in Iran. Under the U.S. Constitution, the power to declare war rests solely with Congress, but that authority has been expanded by the executive branch in recent years.
“As soon as Congress reconvenes next week, we will require the full House to vote on the bipartisan Khanna-Massie War Powers resolution,” Democratic leaders, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY), said in a statement. he said.
“The Iranian regime is a brutal and destabilizing regime, as seen in the recent killing of thousands of protesters,” the statement said. “However, it is reckless to engage in a preferential war in the Middle East without fully understanding all the risks and escalation to our troops.”
If the war powers resolution passes the House of Representatives, it will also need to be approved by the Senate. But passage in the House is far from a guaranteed outcome, with bipartisan lawmakers recently lining up against the resolution.
Representatives Mike Lawler, RY, and Josh Gottheimer, DN.J., filed a report. statesmenHe opposed the measure last week, citing concerns about Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.
“We respect and defend Congress’s constitutional role in matters of war. Oversight and debate are absolutely vital,” the duo wrote. “However, this decision will restrict the flexibility needed to respond to real and evolving threats and risks and signal weakness at a dangerous moment.”
Trump has overseen a massive military buildup in the Middle East and threatened to attack Iran. His administration is also in talks with Tehran over the country’s nuclear program. The two countries will hold a third round of talks in Geneva on Thursday.
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, the president said he preferred to resolve the Iran issue diplomatically but did not take military force off the table.
“I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terrorism to have nuclear weapons,” Trump said.
