The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a resolution aimed at restricting U.S. military action against Iran. It marked the first time either chamber of Congress approved a measure seeking to curb President Donald Trump’s authority in the ongoing conflict.
Lawmakers approved the Democrat-led resolution in a 215-208 vote. Four Republicans joined Democrats in support of the measure. They included Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tom Barrett (R-MI), and Warren Davidson (R-OH).
The resolution was sponsored by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY). It invokes the 1973 War Powers Resolution and would require the withdrawal of U.S. forces from hostilities involving Iran unless Congress authorizes continued military action.
The measure would still need Senate approval before reaching Trump’s desk. The president could also veto the legislation.
Wednesday’s vote represented a setback for the Trump administration and House Republican leadership. Both had worked to prevent the resolution from advancing.
House leaders previously delayed a planned vote on the measure. Concerns had emerged that it could attract enough Republican support to pass.
Supporters of the resolution argued Congress should reassert its constitutional authority over decisions involving war.
“The passage of my War Powers Resolution is a significant bipartisan rebuke of President Trump’s illegal and costly war in Iran, and the first step toward ending it once and for all,” Meeks said in a statement.
“Trump’s war has failed to accomplish the Trump Administration’s stated goals with respect to Iran,” Meeks continued. “If anything, it has pushed a diplomatic resolution of Iran’s nuclear program further away.”
Meeks described the bipartisan vote as a “turning point.” He argued lawmakers were responding to voters who oppose a prolonged military conflict in the Middle East.
Opponents of the measure said it could undermine ongoing diplomatic efforts with Tehran.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) argued before the vote that Congress should give the president room to pursue a negotiated settlement.
“The president is now in the process of concluding a peace agreement, and we have to allow him the latency to do that,” Johnson told The Epoch Times. “And I think a war powers resolution right now is very untimely and a very negative and dangerous thing in the country.”
The Trump administration has maintained that the resolution is unnecessary because a ceasefire has already been declared in the conflict.
Administration officials have also warned that congressional efforts to limit military authority could weaken the United States’ negotiating position with Iran.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that Tehran could view congressional action as a sign that the administration’s “hands are going to be tied.” He said that could make Iranian leaders less willing to negotiate on issues including the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program.
Rubio said Iran could conclude, “we won’t be able to do anything to them, so why make a deal?”
The measure now heads to the Senate. A similar war powers resolution has already gained support from a small group of Republicans there.
If approved by both chambers, it would mark one of the most significant congressional efforts in recent years to limit a president’s military authority during an active conflict.