Listen to On NOTUS: Reporter Roundtable on Congress’ Return and the War in Iran

Congress

House Rejects Latest Effort to Curb Trump’s War in Iran

The vast majority of Republicans are sticking with the Trump administration’s strategy, but Democrats believe as the conflict continues there will be bipartisan support to wield Congress’ war powers.

Iran War

A woman walks past a billboard that shows a graphic depicting a military personnel’s hand holding the Strait of Hormuz in his fist with signs which read in Farsi: “In Iran’s hands forever,” “Trump couldn’t do a damn thing,” " The control of Strait of Hormuz will be Iran’s forever,” in Vanak Square, in northern Tehran, Iran. Vahid Salemi/AP

By Hamed Ahmadi

April 16, 2026 01:32 PM

The House narrowly defeated a Democratic measure Thursday aimed at curbing President Donald Trump’s authority to keep up military operations against Iran.

The resolution, filed by Rep. Gregory Meeks, failed 214-213 with one present vote. Rep. Thomas Massie was the only Republican who supported the measure.

Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from Ohio who supported the measure last time, voted present, effectively helping his leadership block the resolution. He said earlier this week that a war powers vote at this point would be “a bad idea” because it could undercut ceasefire talks and suggested that Congress revisit the issue after the 90-day mark.

Rep. Jared Golden was the sole Democrat who joined the Republicans opposing the measure. He was among the four Democrats who voted against a similar measure in early March. The three others — Reps. Greg Landsman, Henry Cuellar and Juan Vargas — flipped this time.

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Cuellar told NOTUS ahead of the vote that he would support the measure this time because the war now has passed the 30-day mark.

Thursday’s House vote adds to a growing list of failed efforts to force Congress to weigh in on the conflict, even as the war enters a more volatile phase and lawmakers face increasing pressure to define its limits. On Wednesday, Senate Democrats also failed in their fourth attempt to pass a similar measure.

Still, Democrats say they will continue bringing measures to the floor to put Republicans on the record and keep the debate alive.

Republicans have largely stayed behind Trump, even as polls show the war remains deeply unpopular with Americans, though some have begun to signal unease if the conflict drags on beyond what they can defend.

Meeks told reporters after the vote that several Republicans are “very wary” of continuing the operation and said he plans to work on the holdouts, including those Republicans — and Golden — to try to secure passage in the future.

Now in its seventh week, the Iran war looks very different from when it began. What was initially described as a limited campaign of targeted U.S. and Israeli strikes to degrade Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities has evolved into a broader, more volatile conflict that the Trump administration is scrambling to contain. With a shaky ceasefire ending this week and a U.S. naval blockade in effect, lawmakers are increasingly worried the war could be entering a more dangerous phase.

The Trump administration cited a national emergency as grounds for launching the operation without seeking war authorization from Congress. But the 60-day deadline for the White House to come to Congress to approve of the Iran war is approaching at the end of the month. It’s unclear whether a bipartisan resolution could pass in both chambers.