U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, D-Los Angeles, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill, March 3, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON – House Republicans and a handful of Democrats followed the Senate’s lead Thursday in blocking a measure to stop President Donald Trump from continuing the war in Iran without congressional approval.
The joint war with Israel that began six days ago has already claimed the lives of six U.S. soldiers and wounded and killed dozens of civilians across Israel and the Gulf states. According to multiple reports, Iranian authorities say more than 1,000 people have been killed since Saturday.
A war powers resolution sponsored by Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, D-Ky., failed. 212-219 vote. Massie was the only Republican to sign the contract measure.
Massie and Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio broke ranks with Republicans to vote to limit Trump’s hand in Iran. However, Democrats Greg Landsman of Ohio, Jared Golden of Maine, Henry Cuellar of Texas and Juan Vargas of California joined most Republicans in opposing the war powers resolution.
After the vote, Golden released a statement expressing reluctance to support an end to the current fighting despite Trump’s lack of clarity.
Members of the military “are actively engaged in hostilities, our allies are under attack, and the Iranian regime is more desperate than ever to consolidate its power. While I do not believe that a sudden change in the situation is a good course of action, given the reality on the ground, this should not be interpreted as my endorsement,” Golden said.
Davidson he wrote on social media Monday that he wanted “a review of the intelligence behind the attacks on Iran. I am open to the belief that these attacks were necessary. However, I do not support a war of regime change, and any initiation of action on the ground or prolonged conflict requires congressional approval.”
Otherwise, House lawmakers split along party lines, with Republicans offering a high-profile bid support for the intervention.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., described the war powers resolution as a “terrible and dangerous idea.”
During Wednesday’s House debate, Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., said Trump is “using his Article II constitutional powers to defend the United States of America against an imminent threat that we agree on.”
The sponsored flagpole is separate and symbolic resolution confirming that Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism. This measure was adopted on Thursday in 372-53 vote. Two members present voted. Everyone who voted no or was present was Democrat.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., who argued in favor of the war powers resolution on the floor Wednesday, said the United States is currently engaged in conflict with Iran “at President Trump’s own request.”
“What is the strategy to prevent regional escalation and what is the plan for the next day? How much will it cost the American people? Because the American people deserve these answers and Congress deserves a vote,” Meeks said.
The voting of the House of Representatives is similar to that of the Senate
Similar resolution of the war powers lost on Wednesday in the U.S. Senate, when all but one Republican, Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against it. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to join Republicans in opposing the measure.
Republicans, joined by Fetterman, have blocked other attempts to halt Trump’s military interventions during his second term. A war powers resolution banning Trump from further operations in Venezuela failed House AND Senate in January.
On January 3, the United States detained Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on drug and arms trafficking charges. Maduro is awaiting trial in US custody. His arrest came after months of US bombings of alleged petite drug boats in the Caribbean Sea, which killed more than 130 people. According to to the human rights-focused Washington Office for Latin America, which joined the chorus of critics who maintain that the strikes are illegal.
Congress overrode President Richard Nixon’s veto in 1973 during the ongoing Vietnam War and passed the so-called War Powers Resolution as a check on the president’s power
The strikes continue
On Thursday, the US and Israel continued their attacks on Iran.
Trump called on all members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and police to lay down their weapons and “assume immunity.” Otherwise, they face “absolutely guaranteed death,” he said at an unrelated White House event on Thursday afternoon.
“We also call on Iranian diplomats around the world to seek asylum and help us shape a new, better Iran with great potential,” Trump said.
The war expanded in scope when Azerbaijani officials said two drones from Iran struck an airport and other civilian targets within the NATO ally’s borders.
“These acts of aggression will not go unanswered,” says A statement On Thursday, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News On Wednesday evening, he said that if the United States launched a ground invasion, “we are confident that we will be able to face them, and that would be a great disaster for them.”
The White House press secretary told reporters Wednesday that U.S. ground troops “are not part of the current plan,” but did not rule out that it is an option “on the table.”
All six US soldiers killed by Iranian drone on Sunday in Kuwait identified by the Pentagon.
Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.
