House Republicans last week pulled a vote on a resolution that would have limited President Donald Trump’s war powers in Iran after GOP leaders appeared short of the votes needed to defeat a Democratic-led measure. The House will now take up the issue next month.
The delay came as the United States struck targets in Iran this week even while a ceasefire remained in place and talks continued. The resolution under debate would have tested whether Trump had to come back to Congress for approval after initiating military strikes against Iran on February 28 and informing lawmakers on March 2.
The fight sits squarely in the shadow of the 1973 War Powers Resolution, one of Congress’ main checks on unilateral military action. The law requires a president to notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing U.S. forces into hostilities and limits unauthorized military action to 60 days, followed by a 30-day withdrawal period if lawmakers do not authorize the operation.
Trump did not seek congressional authorization before launching the Iran strikes, and Democrats have repeatedly tried to use war powers measures to curb presidential military authority. Republicans control both chambers, but that has not spared them from recorded votes that expose splits over war powers. In May, Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky backed a Democratic-led measure, and Republican Bill Cassidy of Louisiana voted with Democrats to force an Iran war powers debate. Cassidy had already lost his seat to Trump-backed Representative Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming.
The procedural retreat also reflected the political risk for Republicans who were not confident they could defeat the measure on the floor. Marco Rubio said during a May briefing that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional, a view echoed by the White House. Anna Kelly said every administration has held that parts of the War Powers Resolution are unconstitutional since the law’s enactment in 1973, and added that Trump would continue to protect national security using his constitutional authority as commander in chief while being transparent with Congress.
The resolution has surfaced before and has still not cleared both chambers of Congress. That leaves Congress with its most direct test of war powers authority pushed off until next month, even as strikes continue and lawmakers remain split over how much room a president should have to act first and ask later.
