1 of 2 | Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., are sponsoring a war powers resolution in the U.S. House that would impose limits on President Donald Trump’s use of military force against Iran without congressional approval. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
The U.S. House will vote Thursday on a measure to limit President Donald Trump’s war powers Thursday after a similar effort failed in the Senate on Wednesday.
The war powers resolution, backed largely by Democrats, would require the president to seek congressional approval to continue military action against Iran.
The Constitution says the authority to declare war lies squarely with Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has denied that the United States is at war with Iran, saying the military action is “limited in its scope.”
“I believe we have the votes to put this down and I certainly pray that’s true,” Johnson said during a news conference on Wednesday.
Johnson acknowledged that Congress “has a constitutional right to exercise its oversight authority, and we will.”
“We also have a duty and obligation not to undercut our own national security,” he continued.
Republicans are largely opposed to enforcing limits on the president in the conflict with Iran. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced the war powers resolution in June, days before the United States bombed Iranian nuclear facilities.
Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., are sponsoring the resolution. They also led the bipartisan effort to order the Justice Department to release the files on sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in December.
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, said Wednesday that he is also in support of the resolution.
Some Democrats also oppose the resolution. In the House, Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., have voiced opposition to the resolution. Both have been supportive of Israel in military action in Gaza.
As of Wednesday, both lawmakers have been noncommittal on their votes.
Gottheimer is supporting another resolution that calls for the president to U.S. military action against Iran within 30 days of the initial Feb. 28 strike or seek congressional approval.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans in blocking a war powers resolution in the Senate on Wednesday.
This week in Washington
President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable on the Ratepayer Protection Pledge inside the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House on Wednesday. Technology firms that sign the pledge will commit to ensuring artificial intelligence infrastructure does not raise utility bills for households and small businesses. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
