Congress Split on War Powers Resolutions, With House Passing but Senate Rejecting Respective Measures

The House of Representatives has passed a second war powers resolution aimed at forcing President Trump to end hostilities with Iran, though the Senate rejected a similar measure just hours later. Like with the vote last month, a small band of Republicans in the House sided with all Democrats to push the resolution over the finish line on Thursday. Nearly all Republicans on Capitol Hill have been willing to give Mr. Trump total control over military operations against Iran, saying that he has a requisite authority under Article II of the Constitution. The minuscule group now looking to reign him in, however, are pointing to the five-decade-old War Powers Act, which states that the president must receive congressional authorization for military action less than 60 days before those operations began. On Thursday, the House voted by a margin of 214 to 208 to direct Mr. Trump to end hostilities. Among Republicans, just four GOP lawmakers voted for the measure. “If we want a war, or need one, we should apply the lessons from history and our Constitution,” Congressman Warren Davidson, a retired Army Ranger who voted for the resolution, wrote on X after the vote. He says the administration has not adequately defined the mission, nor have they properly sought authorization from Capitol Hill. “We must either restore a government small enough to fit within the Constitution, or call another convention of states,” Mr. Davidson wrote. Another Republican, Congressman Tom Barrett, has specifically pointed to the 60-day window that is defined in the War Powers Act. Mr. Barrett voted to end military operations last month, as well, when he and other Republicans broke with their party and successfully passed a resolution along with Democrats. “My position hasn’t changed. Only Congress has the authority to authorize military action in Iran. I remain ready to work with anyone to eliminate hostile threats to our nation without getting us into another endless war,” Mr. Barrett, another Army veteran, said in a statement. Though he has legal concerns about the current hostilities, Mr. Barrett himself supports the aims of the war. He has introduced a resolution to authorize the use of military force, though Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans in the Senate have argued that such a step is not necessary. The Democratic sponsor of Thursday’s war powers resolution, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, says Congress will continue to put pressure on the Trump administration in a bipartisan war. “What this reflects is that we will continue to put pressure on this president to stand up and to stop this war,” Ms. Jayapal told reporters after the vote. “Working in a bipartisan way, we want to make sure that all the Republicans stand up for the Constitution, for their conscience, and for their constituents.”Shortly after the House vote, the Senate rejected a war powers resolution called up by Democrats. On a vote to call up the resolution, 49 senators voted against doing so while just 47 backed bringing up the measure. One Republican, Senator Susan Collins, backed Democrats’ resolution while a Democrat, Senator John Fetterman, voted with all other Republicans in quashing it. Several senators did not cast votes on Thursday. The White House has tried what critics have called some tricky legal maneuvering to get around the War Powers Act’s 60-day clock. As the deadline neared at the end of April, Mr. Trump formally notified Congress that the attacks on Iran had ended. Earlier this month, however, Mr. Trump told Capitol Hill that the war was back on, thus restarting the 60-day countdown. The conflict has grown increasingly unpopular amid higher gas prices and a growing casualty list. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, administration officials, and a small group of senators attended a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base to welcome home the remains of several servicemembers who had been killed by Iranian missiles and drones in the region in recent days.

Congress Split on War Powers Resolutions, With House Passing but Senate Rejecting Respective Measures

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