US House of Representatives passes war powers resolution in rebuke to Trump

play Live Sign upShow navigation menu.css-15ru6p1{font-size:inherit;font-weight:normal;}Navigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle EastExplainedOpinionWorld CupVideoMoreShow more sectionsFeaturesEconomySportHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravelplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNavigation menucaret-leftDonald TrumpHow Iran war fallout may shape US electionsA visual guide to redistrictingWho is Thomas Massie?Takeaways from primary electionscaret-rightNews|Donald TrumpUS House passes Iran war powers resolution in rare moment of Trump backlashFour Republicans allied with Democrats to pass bill to rein in Trump, though it is likely to face a presidential veto. xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoUS House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks during a press conference on June 3 [Nathan Howard/Reuters]By Al Jazeera StaffPublished On 3 Jun 20263 Jun 2026The United States House of Representatives has passed a resolution to rein in President Donald Trump’s powers to attack Iran without congressional authorisation. Four Republicans joined Democrats to pass the bill in a vote of 215 to 208 on Wednesday in Washington, DC. While the resolution is unlikely to become law, it represents a stark rebuke against Trump’s decision to join Israel in attacking Iran on February 28, launching an ongoing conflict that reaches its 100th day on Saturday. Trump did not seek congressional approval for the war, which he has attempted to label as a “skirmish” or a “short-term excursion”. But the Republican leader’s repeated use of military force abroad has frustrated some leaders in Congress, a body which the Constitution solely imbued with the power to declare war. Wednesday’s vote marked the fourth time this year the House of Representatives has voted on a war powers resolution to force Trump to seek congressional backing for his military actions against Iran. It is the first time, however, that the resolution has been successful in the House. That passage comes after a political manoeuvre that some interpreted as a Republican effort to scuttle the vote. A vote on the war powers resolution was expected on May 21, the eve of Congress’s Memorial Day recess. But the vote was cancelled, despite indications that the resolution would succeed with Republican support. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican and close Trump ally, chose to adjourn the chamber early. The resolution, however, was picked up again after the recess. In Wednesday’s vote, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky splintered away from the Republican establishment to pass the bill. Massie, whose re-election bid President Trump actively campaigned against, marked the occasion with a message on social media. “The Iran War Powers Resolution that I cosponsored (opposing the war) just passed the House of Representatives,” Massie wrote. “The People’s House is sending a message: end this war.” Massie will not be returning to Congress next year. He was defeated last month in his local Republican Party primary by a Trump-backed opponent, Ed Gallrein. While Trump’s war against Iran has divided House Republicans, the chamber’s Democrats were unanimous in their backing of the war powers resolution. After the vote, several took urged their colleagues in the Senate to swiftly pass the measure. “We passed an Iran War Powers Resolution in the House to rein in Trump and end his unauthorized, reckless war,” Representative Ayanna Pressley, a progressive from Massachusetts, wrote on social media. “The Senate must immediately follow suit and act to end this war.” Representative Shontel Brown of Ohio, meanwhile, underscored the constitutional issues raised by Trump’s war, as well as its cost. “Congress holds the power to declare war—not the executive branch,” she said in a post. “After months of chaos, higher costs, and wasted resources, it is time to end Trump’s costly war in Iran NOW.” The Iran war has been costly to the US, with the Pentagon estimating in May that $29bn has been spent so far. Some analysts consider that an undercount, though. In April, a public finance expert at Harvard University projected that the price tag could soar to more than $1 trillion. There are also concerns that the war has cost the US in terms of military preparedness. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US-based research institute, issued a report in April warning that certain critical munitions have run low, with the number used outstripping the number of anticipated replacements. Those include Tomahawk missiles, Terminal High Altitude Area Defenses (THAADs) and Precision Strike missiles (PrSMs). US voters broadly disapprove of the US-Israeli war against Iran. A poll last month from the Marist Institute for Public Opinion found that 60 percent of US citizens disapprove of Trump’s approach to the war, a jump from 54 percent in March. That increase was even seen among Republicans. While 15 percent disapproved of Trump’s handling of the war in March, that number has since increased to 22 percent. Among US citizens overall, 61 percent found that the Iran war had done “more harm than good”. That growing disapproval reflects, in part, the economic backlash to the war, which has sent prices for fuel and other products like agricultural fertiliser skyrocketing. The Trump administration has also faced criticism for the unprovoked nature of the February 28 attack, though the president and his allies have argued the war was necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Wednesday’s House war powers resolution now proceeds to the Senate, which passed a similar bill in May. But it faces an uphill battle overall, as Trump is likely to veto any attempt to curtail his military powers. Only a bill passed with a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate can overcome a presidential veto. So far, neither the Senate’s version, nor the House’s, has breached that threshold. 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