Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives unexpectedly pulled a planned Thursday afternoon vote on a war powers resolution that would have demanded President Donald Trump obtain Congress' authorization to continue military action against Iran. The vote was slated to occur shortly before members left Washington for the Memorial Day recess.
The move follows a recent increase in momentum for such measures. Two days earlier, the U.S. Senate advanced a comparable war powers resolution, a rare instance of crossing party lines to push a challenge to the president.
Earlier in the year the House had blocked three previous war powers resolutions in tight contests, with Republicans largely united in opposing them. Nonetheless, the margins supporting those defeats narrowed over time - the most recent effort failed on a tie vote - as weeks have elapsed since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on February 28.
Signs suggested Thursday's resolution in the House had a real chance of passing. Several Republicans were expected to break ranks and vote with Democrats, and other GOP members planned to be absent. After the cancellation, Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters: "We had the votes without question, and they knew it." He said House Republican leaders had postponed the vote until early June, after the holiday recess.
Lawmakers who support sending the president back to Congress for authorization - a group that includes Democrats and a limited number of Republicans - point to the U.S. Constitution's allocation of war-declaring power to Congress. They have voiced concerns that the administration may have committed the nation to a prolonged conflict without setting out a clear strategy.
By contrast, most House Republicans and officials in the White House maintain that President Trump's use of military force falls within his authority as commander-in-chief. They argue that limited operations ordered to counter imminent threats are lawful and appropriate steps to protect the United States.
Republicans hold narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress. In the Senate vote earlier in the week, lawmakers agreed to advance a separate but similar war powers resolution by a procedural margin of 50 to 47. In that vote four Republicans joined every Senate Democrat but one in supporting advancement; three Republican senators missed the roll call.
The timing and outcome of the delayed House vote will be watched closely in coming weeks. With leadership electing to push the question past the recess, the chamber now faces a compressed calendar in early June to consider how to proceed on a measure that has gained traction amid close internal party dynamics and heightened scrutiny of executive action.