The United States House of Representatives is set to vote on a resolution to halt the administration of US President Donald Trump’s military actions against Iran, in the latest test of lawmakers’ positions on the war.
The vote on Thursday comes a day after a vote on a parallel war powers resolution, which failed in the US Senate 47-53, mostly along partisan lines.
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As in the Senate, Republicans control a slim majority in the House, and any vote to rein in Trump’s actions is all but assured to face an uphill battle.
Still, Thursday’s vote will be significant. The House of Representatives, with 435 seats, was envisioned by the US Constitution as the legislative branch closest to the US public. It is often referred to as the People’s House.
With polls continually showing dismal approval from Trump’s bombing campaign, and figures in Trump’s own “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) base questioning the war’s motivation, a vote will force lawmakers to go on record with their positions, according to Thomas Massie, a Republican sponsoring the resolution.
“They don’t want their name associated with this when it doesn’t turn out well,” Massie said from the House floor during a debate period on Wednesday.
He has joined with mostly Democrats in condemning Trump’s actions as unconstitutional.
Under the US Constitution, only Congress can declare war. Presidents can unilaterally conduct some military actions, but legal scholars have long argued that, under the founding US document, that authority only applies in instances of immediate self-defence of the country.
Lawmakers critical of Trump’s actions have decried the operation launched on Saturday alongside Israel as a “war of choice”, charging the administration has not offered any evidence of an immediate threat.
To be sure, the administration has presented a kaleidoscope of rationales, many that run counter to available evidence.
The administration has pointed to both Iran’s nuclear programme, which Trump has said was “obliterated” in strikes last year, as well as claims Iran sought to develop a ballistic missile programme capable of hitting the US. If Iran did seek to develop such a missile, experts have noted, US intelligence has assessed it would take them until 2035 to achieve that goal.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said earlier this week that Washington’s close ally Israel was planning to strike Iran, which they expected to prompt an Iranian attack on US assets in the Middle East. Trump subsequently said Iran was the one planning to strike Israel.
Across the claims, the administration has said the totality of the Iranian government’s actions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution represented an immediate threat that previous US administrations had failed to address.
‘Constitutional right to exercise its authority’
Speaking ahead of the failed vote in the Senate on Friday, Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer said following classified briefings and public statements, he increasingly feared the prospect of the US putting boots on the ground.
“He picks one plan one day, then he picks the total opposite the next. He doesn’t think it through, he doesn’t check the facts,” Schumer said, referring to Trump.
“He is surrounded by ‘yes’ men; this is dangerous,” he said.
As of Thursday, fighting continued across the Middle East, with the US and Israel repeatedly striking Iran, and Iran launching its latest wave of attacks across the Gulf. Recent strikes have extended as far as Turkiye and Azerbaijan.
At least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran since Saturday, while 11 were killed in Israel and nine in Gulf states. Six US soldiers were also killed.
As underscored in Wednesday’s Senate vote, Republicans have largely rallied behind Trump’s campaign or offered tacit support, including praise for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, the top Republican in the chamber, has warned it would be “dangerous” to force an end to the military campaign.
On Wednesday, he pointed to Congress’s “constitutional right to exercise its oversight authority”.
“But we also have a duty and obligation not to undercut our own national security,” he said.
Several Republicans have expressed confidence that Trump will swiftly end the war and, in turn, help reduce political fallout over contradictions with Trump’s anti-interventionist campaign pledges.
Under the 1973 War Powers Act, presidents have 60 days, with a possible 90-day extension, to obtain congressional approval to continue military actions, regardless of their initial justification.
Vote expected to be close
Republicans currently control 218 seats in the House to Democrats 214, with three seats remaining vacant.
The vote is expected to be close, with the top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, predicting wide support across the party.
However, a handful of Democrats have indicated they could oppose the resolution, including Representative Josh Gottheimer, a top defender of Israel.
Beyond Massie, at least one Republican, Representative Warren Davidson, has committed to voting in favour of reining in Trump.
If the resolution passes with a simple majority, it would need to be brought to another vote in the Senate before it is sent to Trump’s desk. He could then veto it, and both chambers of Congress would need a two-thirds majority to override it.
A small group of Democrats has separately proposed a different war powers resolution that would allow the president to continue the war for 30 days before seeking congressional approval.
