House narrowly rejects Iran war powers resolution in test of Trump's
strategy
[March 06, 2026]
By LISA MASCARO, STEPHEN GROVES and MARY CLARE JALONICK
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House narrowly rejected a resolution Thursday to
curb President Donald Trump's powers in the Iran war, an early sign of
unease in Congress over the rapidly widening conflict that is reordering
U.S. priorities at home and abroad.
It's the second vote in as many days, after the Senate defeated a
similar measure. Lawmakers are confronting the sudden reality of
representing wary Americans in wartime and all that entails — with lives
lost, dollars spent and alliances tested by a president's unilateral
decision to go to war with Iran.
While the tally in the House, 212-219, was expected to be tight, the
outcome provided a clarifying snapshot of political support for, and
opposition to, the U.S.-Israel military operation and Trump's rationale
for bypassing Congress, which alone has the power to declare war. At the
Capitol, the conflict has quickly carried echoes of the long wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq, and many Sept. 11-era veterans now serve in
Congress.
“Donald Trump is not a king, and if he believes the war with Iran is in
our national interest, then he must come to Congress and make the case,"
said Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs
Committee.
House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that it would be “dangerous” to limit
the president’s authority while the U.S. military is already in
conflict.
“We are not at war," said Johnson, R-La., a close ally of Trump,
contradicting others. He said the operation is limited in scope and
duration, and the "mission is nearly accomplished.”
Republicans largely back Trump, and most Democrats oppose the war
Trump’s Republican Party, which narrowly controls the House and Senate,
largely sees the conflict with Iran not as the start of a new war, but
the end of a government that has long menaced the West. The operation
has killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which some view
as an opportunity for regime change, though others warn of a chaotic
power vacuum.
Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, chairman of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, publicly thanked Trump for taking action against
Iran, saying the president is using his own constitutional authority to
defend the U.S. against the “imminent threat” the country posed.
Mast, an Army veteran who worked as a bomb disposal expert in
Afghanistan, said the war powers resolution was effectively asking “that
the president do nothing.”
For Democrats, Trump's attack on Iran, influenced by Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is a war of choice that is testing the
balance of powers in the Constitution.
“The framers weren’t fooling around,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.,
arguing that the Constitution is clear that only Congress can decide
matters of war. “It’s up to us.”
Crossover coalitions emerged among those in Congress. Two Republicans
joined most Democrats in voting for the war powers resolution, while
four Democrats joined Republicans to reject it.
The war powers resolution, if signed into law, would have immediately
halted Trump's ability to conduct the war unless Congress approved the
military action. The president would likely veto it.
Trump officials provide shifting rationale for war
Trump has scrambled to win support for the nearly week-old conflict as
Americans of all political persuasions take stock. Administration
officials spent hours behind closed doors on Capitol Hill this week
trying to reassure lawmakers that they have the situation under control.
Six U.S. military members were killed over the weekend in a drone strike
in Kuwait, and Trump has said more Americans could die. Thousands of
Americans abroad have scrambled for flights, many lighting up phone
lines at congressional offices as they sought help trying to flee the
Middle East.
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., gestures as he and the GOP
leadership talk about the war against Iran, during a news conference
at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/J.
Scott Applewhite)
Trump said Thursday he must be involved in choosing Iran’s new
leader. Yet Johnson, R-La., said this week that America has enough
problems at home and is not about to be in the “nation-building
business.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the war could extend eight
weeks, twice as long as the president first estimated. Trump has
left open the possibility of sending U.S. troops into what has
largely been a bombing campaign. More than 1,230 people in Iran have
died.
The administration said the goal is to destroy Iran's ballistic
missiles that it believes are shielding its nuclear program. It has
also said Israel was ready to act, and American bases would face
retaliation if the U.S. did not strike Iran first. The U.S. said
Wednesday it torpedoed an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka.
"This administration can't even give us a straight answer of as to
why we launched this preemptive war," said Rep. Thomas Massie, the
Republican from Kentucky, an outlier in his party.
Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who had teamed up to force the
release the Jeffrey Epstein files, also pushed the war powers
resolution to the floor, past objections from Johnson's GOP
leadership. Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio, a former Army
Ranger, also voted for it. Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas,
Jared Golden of Maine, Greg Landsman of Ohio and Juan Vargas of
California voted against.
“Congress must stand with the president to finally close, once and
for all, this dark chapter of history,” said Rep. Michael McCaul,
R-Texas.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., said that as the daughter of Iranian
immigrants who fled their homeland, she opposes the regime but is
concerned that a democratic transition for the people of Iran never
seems to a priority for Trump or the officials who briefed Congress.
“War carries profound and deadly consequences for our troops, for
the American people and for the entire world," she said. “It’s the
most serious decision that a nation can make.”
Other Democrats have proposed an alternative resolution that would
allow the president to continue the war for 30 days before he must
seek congressional approval. The House also approved a separate
measure affirming that Iran is the largest state sponsor of
terrorism.
Senators sit in their desks for solemn vote
In the Senate, Republican leaders have successfully, though
narrowly, defeated a series of war powers resolutions pertaining to
several other conflicts during Trump's second term. This one,
however, was different.
Underscoring the gravity Wednesday, Democratic senators sat at their
desks as the voting got underway.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said that every
senator will pick a side. “Do you stand with the American people who
are exhausted with forever wars in the Middle East?" he asked. Or
with Trump and Hegseth "as they bumble us headfirst into another
war?”
Sen. John Barrasso, second in Senate Republican leadership, said,
“Democrats would rather obstruct Donald Trump than obliterate Iran’s
national nuclear program."
The legislation failed on a 47-53 tally mostly along party lines,
with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in favor and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa.,
against.
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