WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans struggled Thursday to find the votes to dismiss legislation that would compel President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying planned votes on the matter into June.
The House had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, brought by Democrats, that would rein in Trump’s military campaign. But as it became clear that Republicans would not have the numbers to defeat the bill, GOP leaders declined to hold a vote on it. It was the latest sign of the slipping support in Congress for a war that Trump launched more than two months ago without congressional approval.
“We had the votes without question and they knew it, and as a result they’re playing a political game,” said Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, who sponsored the bill.
Republicans in the Senate are also working to ensure they have the votes to dismiss another war powers resolution that advanced to a final vote earlier this week, when four GOP senators supported the resolution and three others were absent from the vote.
The actions by congressional leaders showed Republicans are struggling to maintain political backing for Trump’s handling of the war. Rank-and-file Republicans are increasingly willing to defy the president over the conflict.
House Republican Leader Steve Scalise told reporters that the vote was delayed to give lawmakers who were absent a chance to vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson did not answer questions from reporters as he exited the House chamber.
Frustration with Iran war grows on Capitol Hill
On Capitol Hill, patience with the war has worn thin as the stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz disrupts global shipping and elevates gas prices in the U.S. Another House war powers resolution nearly passed last week, falling on a tie vote as three Republicans voted in favor.
Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he had the votes “locked in” this time around.
“People are beginning to finally listen to the American people who don’t support the war in Iran, and I think there’s a growing number of Republicans who see how devastating the war has been for our country,” said Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state.
The lone Democrat who voted against the war powers resolution last week, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, has said he will vote in favor of the legislation next time.
In a joint statement, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and other caucus leaders said Republicans were “cowardly” to pull the vote.
“Even as we prepare to recognize our nation’s fallen heroes on Memorial Day, House Republicans refuse to show up and be accountable to the brave service members that have been recklessly put in harm’s way,” they added.
Republicans have been broadly supportive of Trump’s efforts to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but some are now saying the president’s legal timeline to wage a war without congressional approval has expired. Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, presidents have 60 days to engage in a military conflict before Congress must either declare war or authorize the use of military force.
“We’re past 60 days so it’s got to be brought to us to vote on. We’re following the law,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, adding that he plans to vote for the war powers resolution.
The dispute over war powers
The White House argues that the requirements of the War Powers Resolution no longer apply because of the ceasefire with Iran. At the same time, Trump has said he was just an hour away from ordering another strike on Iran earlier this week, but held off because Gulf allies said they were engaged in negotiations to end the war.
Still, Trump said on social media that military leaders should “be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.” Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican who has so far voted against the war powers resolutions, expressed frustration with the Trump administration’s stance, especially from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“The current status quo, Pete Hegseth demonstrates how incompetent he is,” Tillis told reporters, adding that he would be willing to vote for an authorization for use of military force.
Earlier this week, Democratic senators rallied outside the Capitol Wednesday alongside VoteVets, a left-leaning veterans’ advocacy group. They placed signs on the Capitol lawn noting that the nationwide average price of gasoline had risen to $4.53.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who served in the Iraq War with the Air National Guard, argued that the Iran war has amounted to a strategic blunder for Trump.
“Trump started a war, and he’s made things worse than before,” Duckworth said, pointing to Iran’s new leadership and the country’s willingness to put a chokehold on commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Republican leaders praised Trump for taking what they said was bold action to directly confront Iran, a nation that has been a U.S. adversary for decades.
“I’m an American. I don’t believe in getting hit and walking away and pretending as though it didn’t happen,” said Rep. Brian Mast, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
For Congress, the growing momentum to pass a war powers resolution could eventually lead to a legal showdown over who has the final authority over military conflicts.
The legislation before the House is a concurrent resolution that lawmakers said would take effect without Trump’s signature if it passed both chambers of Congress.
But Trump has also argued that the 1973 law — passed by Congress during the Vietnam War era in an attempt to take back its power over foreign conflicts — is unconstitutional.
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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Lisa Mascaro and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.