House votes down proposal to limit Trump's war powers

by · UPI

March 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. House on Thursday voted down a measure to limit President Donald Trump's war powers, one day after a similar effort failed in the Senate.

The war powers resolution, backed for the most part by Democrats, failed 212 to 219.

The bill garnered yes votes from Republican Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, while Democrat Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Jared Golden, D-Maine, Greg Landsman, D-Ohio and Juan Vargas, D-Calif., voted against it, ABC News and Fox News reported.

Had the bill, if it had passed either house of Congress, was aimed at forcing the president to seek congressional approval to continue military action against Iran.

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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 ahead of the vote during a news conference

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.

Massie, however, introduced the war powers resolution last June, days before the United States bombed Iranian nuclear facilities.

Massie and Khanna 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.

Some Democrats had opposed the resolution as late as Wednesday, including Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., who said in a post on X after Thursday's vote that he decided to vote for the war powers resolution because "the military operations carried out this weekend were not limited strikes."

"The President of the United States has said it's a war," Moskowitz said, noting that Congress has the role to declare war. "The Secretary of [Defense] has said it's a war. We don't have to try to wordsmith this for the American people. They know it's a war."

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., is also supporting another resolution that calls for the president to end U.S. military action against Iran within 30 days of the initial Feb. 28 strike or seek congressional approval.

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