WASHINGTON — House lawmakers narrowly rejected a measure requiring President Trump to end the war with Iran absent congressional approval Thursday, with just a single vote separating the two sides.
The so-called war powers resolution failed by a 214-213 vote on a near-party-line basis, with Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) siding with most Republicans in opposing the resolution, while libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) joining most Democrats in supporting it.
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) voted present, while three other Republicans — Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Thomas Kean Jr., of New Jersey and Nancy Mace of South Carolina — did not vote.
A Senate version of the resolution was voted down Wednesday, with Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky voting for it and Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania opposing it.
“My Democrat colleagues really want America to lose,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-Fla.) fumed during a floor debate ahead of the vote.
“As far I’m concerned, the most patriotic thing that we can do is stand up to ensure that our men and women in uniform aren’t being recklessly sent into a costly war of choice, more than 12 of whom have already lost their lives, hundreds of whom have been seriously injured,” countered House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
The resolution came to the floor in the midst of a two-week cease-fire between the US, Israel, and Iran that expires April 22. Trump has imposed a blockade around Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil flows annually.
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That blockade is part of a pressure campaign to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran attempting to charge tolls.
Prior to the cease-fire announcement, Trump had spooked lawmakers with his bone-chilling social media threat that “a whole civilization will die” if Iran failed to make a deal.
Under the War Powers Act, Trump has until April 28 before needing Congress to vote on whether to extend the conflict. Should Congress fail to do so, Trump would have 30 days to pull American forces back.
Some allies of the president have suggested he could mount a constitutional challenge against the War Powers Act.
