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Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives abruptly called off a planned vote on Thursday on a resolution aimed at halting military action against Iran unless President Donald Trump secures approval from Congress. The decision came just two days after a similar proposal moved forward in the U.S. Senate.
The vote had been scheduled for late Thursday, shortly before lawmakers were set to leave Washington for the Memorial Day recess. However, House leadership opted to postpone the measure, signaling shifting political dynamics around the issue.
Earlier this year, the House narrowly rejected three separate war powers resolutions, each with overwhelming Republican support, highlighting the party’s strong backing of both the Iran conflict and the president. But recent votes have grown tighter, with the most recent effort ending in a tie.
As the conflict—sparked by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran beginning February 28—has continued, support within the House appears to have softened. Thursday’s resolution was widely expected to pass due to possible defections among Republican lawmakers and the absence of others.
Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the votes were there to approve the measure. He claimed Republican leaders chose to delay the vote until early June, after the Memorial Day break, to avoid a likely defeat.
Democrats, joined by a small number of Republicans, have been urging the president to seek congressional authorization before engaging in further military action. They argue that under the U.S. Constitution, only Congress has the authority to declare war and have raised concerns about the lack of a clearly defined long-term strategy.
Meanwhile, most Republicans and the White House maintain that the president’s actions are lawful. They argue that, as commander-in-chief, Trump has the authority to order limited military operations to counter immediate threats to national security.
Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both chambers of Congress, making every vote critical.
In the Senate, a similar war powers resolution advanced earlier in the week in a rare bipartisan move against the president. The procedural vote passed 50-47, with four Republicans joining nearly all Democrats in support, while three Republican senators were absent.
