Congress Alone Declares War: US House Moves to Check Trump’s Military Powers Over Iran
The US House of Representatives has approved a measure aimed at restricting President Donald Trump’s ability to expand military operations against Iran without congressional approval, marking a rare bipartisan challenge to the White House’s handling of the conflict.
The resolution passed on Wednesday by a vote of 215 to 208 after four Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in supporting the move.
While the measure still faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate, the vote reflected growing unease within Congress over America’s continuing military involvement in Iran.
The latest action represents the fourth effort by the House to curb Trump’s war-making authority since hostilities erupted earlier this year.
Republican lawmakers Thomas Massie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Barrett and Warren Davidson broke ranks with their party to support the resolution, helping secure its passage.
Speaking after the vote, Barrett defended his position, arguing that the constitutional power to declare war belongs to Congress.
“Congress alone declares war, that’s something certainly we need to be protective of,” he said, adding that he was prepared to accept any political consequences for voting according to his convictions.
Democrats hailed the outcome as a significant statement against the administration’s military strategy.
Representative Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, described the vote as a bipartisan rejection of what he called an unnecessary and costly conflict.
According to Meeks, the military campaign has failed to achieve its stated objectives while contributing to higher fuel costs and making diplomatic engagement with Iran more difficult.
He argued that the result demonstrated increasing resistance, including among Republican voters, to another prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
The conflict began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran.
Tehran responded with attacks targeting Israel and US-aligned countries in the Gulf region and moved to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global energy supplies.
Although Washington and Tehran announced an initial ceasefire agreement in April, tensions have remained high.
Recent days have seen fresh exchanges of military strikes, including US attacks on Iranian targets and retaliatory actions by Tehran against regional allies of Washington.
Despite the continued hostilities, Trump insisted negotiations remain on track and suggested a broader agreement could be reached soon.
Speaking at the White House, the president said discussions with Iran were progressing positively and expressed hope that a deal could bring an end to the fighting.
“In theory they’re pretty close to signing a paper,” Trump said. “We’ve actually gotten along with them very well.”
The Senate is expected to consider its own version of the measure in the coming weeks, setting up another test of congressional efforts to assert authority over US military engagements abroad.
