US House votes down bid to rein in Trump's Iran war powers

The measure fell short by 212 votes to 219, a day after the Senate rejected a similar effort, underscoring Congress's limited appetite -- particularly among Republicans -- for confronting the White House in the early days of the conflict.

Even if had passed both chambers, Trump would have been able to veto the legislation -- a step that would have required two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override, an almost impossible threshold in the current Congress.

The vote came less than a week after the United States and Israel began a sweeping military campaign against Iran, targeting missile facilities, naval assets and other infrastructure. 

The strikes have already killed senior Iranian government officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and triggered retaliatory attacks across the region.

The conflict has also claimed American lives: six US servicemembers were killed in a strike on a US base in Kuwait, intensifying pressure on lawmakers to weigh in on a war that Congress has not explicitly authorized.

Democrats -- who are expected to push for further votes -- argue the administration has offered shifting explanations for the campaign and has failed to demonstrate that Iran posed an imminent threat requiring immediate military action.

- 'War of choice' -

"Republicans had their chance to do something that would have been overwhelmingly popular: to say no to Trump's war," Chuck Schumer, who leads the Senate's Democratic minority, said in a floor speech Thursday. 

"Instead, they enthusiastically said yes, and now they own this war with Iran just as much as Donald Trump does."

Under the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war. The 1973 War Powers Resolution -- passed after the Vietnam War -- was intended to prevent presidents from committing US forces to prolonged conflicts without congressional consent.

The failed House resolution invoked that law, directing the president to withdraw US forces from "unauthorized hostilities" involving Iran unless lawmakers explicitly approve the operation.

But Republican leaders rallied behind Trump, arguing that limiting his authority during an ongoing military campaign would embolden Iran and endanger US troops.

"I think passage of a war powers resolution right now would be a terrible, dangerous idea... It would empower our enemies," House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters ahead of the vote.

"It would kneecap our own forces, and it would take the ability of the US military and the commander in chief away in completing this critical mission to keep everybody safe."

But Massie, one of the few Republicans willing to break with the administration, said Congress must reassert its constitutional role.

"Under our Constitution, the power to initiate war rests solely with Congress," he said. "Congress owes our service members a clearly defined mission, so that when they accomplish it, they can come home."

ft/des