Congressional Republicans are mostly standing behind President Trump as he continues his war against Iran to prevent the Middle East nation from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Democrats, nearly universally opposed to what they call the president’s “war of choice,” are continuing to press Republicans on the issue by forcing votes on war powers resolutions requiring the president to end hostilities against Iran unless he obtains congressional approval.
But they did not pick up a single GOP vote in either the House or Senate on Thursday, despite escalating military attacks exchanged between the U.S. and Iran and the recent deaths of four U.S. service members.
Sen. Tim Sheehy, Montana Republican and a former Navy SEAL, said the U.S. must finish the war, which he said Iran started 47 years ago when “a radical, lunatic band of terrorists” took over the nation and started wreaking havoc around the globe.
“Their attacks have gone unanswered for half a century,” he said. “It’s time to fix this problem and make sure another generation of Americans does not have to fight this murderous, savage adversary.”
Democrats said the war powers votes are not just about ending the war but asserting Congress’ authority.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but Mr. Trump has not asked for an authorization for use of military force against Iran.
“There’s no good way out of a bad war, but … when you’re digging yourself a hole, the first thing you should do is stop digging,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat who led Thursday’s war powers vote.
“Let us stop pretending that Congress has no role to play while American service members remain in harm’s way,” he said.
Mr. Van Hollen’s resolution failed to advance, 47-49.
But House Democrats’ war powers resolution passed 214-208 with the support of four Republicans who had voted for a similar measure last month.
In June, both chambers of Congress passed a war powers resolution directing Mr. Trump to end the war. He did not.
“My view is so long as the administration continues to ignore the law and the Constitution and the will of the people, that we have to force as many votes as possible to hold folks accountable who are capitulating to this administration,” Rep. Jason Crow, Colorado Democrat and a former Army officer, told The Washington Times.
The administration said the war powers resolution that passed Congress did not carry the force of law because it was drafted as a concurrent resolution that does not require the president’s signature.
The four House Republicans supporting that measure and Thursday’s war powers resolution were Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Warren Davidson of Ohio.
They said the administration needs congressional approval to continue hostilities against Iran, because the conflict is long past a 60-day deadline set by the War Powers Act to obtain authorization for use of military force.
“Only Congress has the authority to authorize military action in Iran,” Mr. Barrett said in a statement. “I remain ready to work with anyone to eliminate hostile threats to our nation without getting us into another endless war.”
On Thursday, a coalition of 30 left-leaning and nonpartisan civil society groups sent a letter to Congress urging it to enforce the war powers resolution that cleared Congress last month through litigation and denying any funding for the unauthorized war.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Washington Democrat who led the latest House war powers resolution, said litigation is a potential path and “people are thinking through what that looks like.”
In the meantime, Republicans voting against ending the war will have “to answer to their constituents about why they would allow this to continue,” she told The Times.
“We really appreciate the people who are taking these votes out of conscience and constitutional clarity, but there are still many that aren’t,” Ms. Jayapal said.
Some Republicans who are not entirely comfortable with the war have dismissed the Democrat-led war power votes as purely political.
Mr. Trump has made that argument as well, and expressed frustration with those in his party who have sided with Democrats.
He was so irate over the Senate’s passage of a war powers resolution last month that he got into a heated exchange with Sen. Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Republican, over the issue during a private GOP lunch.
Mr. Cassidy voted for the war powers resolution that passed the Senate in June because he said he was not getting his questions answered from the administration.
However, he changed his vote when the Senate held a redo vote to appease Mr. Trump later in the week, citing a briefing he received from Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East.
Mr. Cassidy said he also talked to Mr. Witkoff ahead of Thursday’s vote and, while he does not believe the war is winding down, he said it would be irresponsible to pull troops right now.
“The nature of this particular war powers resolution was a little preemptive,” he said. “I do think Congress should weigh in, but I also don’t think it’s profitable for us to leave tomorrow.”
Mr. Cassidy and a few Republicans are interested in Congress weighing in with a formal authorization for use of military force, or AUMF, that can set limitations on the scope of the war and require the administration to provide regular updates to lawmakers.
“Now particularly with the Houthis threatening the same thing in the Red Sea that we have in the Strait of Hormuz, this could spiral out of control,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican. “We need to support the president. You do that by legitimizing it with an AUMF.”
Mr. Barrett introduced an AUMF in May that would have authorized the war in Iran with limitations, such as preventing boots on the ground. That measure, which was designed to sunset on July 30, only picked up one GOP cosponsor, retiring Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about the need for an AUMF on Tuesday, given the recent escalations in strikes.
“I don’t think an AUMF is in order right now,” he said. “The commander-in-chief and the whole Department of War are working very hard to bring this to a resolution.”
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