New Delhi: As the Iran war enters its fourth month with no clear end in sight, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution by a vote of 215-208 to curtail President Donald Trump’s power to continue the military action in West Asia.
Four Republicans—Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Warren Davidson of Ohio—joined 211 Democratic lawmakers in voting in favor of the resolution Wednesday.
With Republicans holding the majority in Congress, the passing of the resolution comes as a major win for Democratic representatives after three previous failed attempts to pass this resolution in the lower house of the US Congress.
While the vote is mostly symbolic, considering it must also pass the Senate to come into effect, it reflects the increasingly bipartisan efforts to force Trump’s hand to withdraw American forces or seek Congressional approval for the war against Iran.
According to the US Constitution, only the Congress, the legislative branch of the US, has the power to declare war. Many congressional representatives have criticized the Iran war as illegal since the President did not seek congressional approval before starting the military campaign.
Congressman Fitzpatrick justified his vote in favour of the resolution: “We must keep the world safe, and we must also follow the law,” he was quoted as saying by The New York Times. “The War Powers Act of 1973 states that any conflict exceeding 60 days must be brought to Congress,” he added.
This development shows the growing disillusionment within the Republican party over the Trump administration’s approach to the conflict and the costly nature of the war. It represents a broader divergence of interests within the ruling party ahead of the mid-term elections, with many Republican representatives in both chambers criticising and voting against his recent domestic efforts—such as the billion dollar ballroom project and federal “anti-weaponisation” fund.
The resolution will be voted on in the Republican majority Senate, where it is unlikely to get cleared given the seven past, unsuccessful attempts to pass a similar, but separate, resolution to end the conflict.
If the Senate does vote in favour of the resolution, Trump will almost certainly veto the measure once it reaches the White House. The Trump administration has dismissed claims of the Congress’s ability to curb his power to continue the Iran campaign due to the disputed legality over the enforcement of congressionally approved war powers resolutions.
Additionally, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and numerous other GOP representatives have asserted that the conflict in West Asia does not meet the threshold of a war, thereby not requiring congressional approval.
Nonetheless, House Democrats celebrated the vote as significant progress towards ending the deeply unpopular war. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New Jersey called for representatives in the Senate to translate this resolution into meaningful and actionable legislation.
“Following repeated attempts to get sycophants in the Republican-controlled House to join us, House Democrats successfully passed our War Powers Resolution today to stand up for the American people and hold Donald Trump accountable. It is now time for Senate Republicans to do the right thing,” he was quoted as saying by NPR.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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