House rebukes Trump on Iran as Senate blocks debate

Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Mich.) speaks to reporters after the House passed an Iran war powers resolution on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. The House on July 23 voted a second time to direct President Donald Trump to end the war in Iran or seek explicit authorization to continue it, with Barrett and three other Republicans joining Democrats in the 214-208 vote. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

By ROBERT JIMISON

The House on Thursday voted a second time to direct President Donald Trump to end the war in Iran or seek explicit authorization to continue it, dealing him another bipartisan rebuke as he again ramps up military operations in the Middle East without approval from Congress.

Four Republicans joined Democrats in backing the measure, which does not have the force of law but is the latest evidence of disapproval on Capitol Hill with Trump’s handling of the conflict. Not long afterward, Republicans blocked a similar measure from consideration in the Senate, after key GOP skeptics of the war either changed their stance or did not vote.

The House action came after the United States concluded its 12th consecutive night of strikes in Iran, after the collapse of a ceasefire that many Republicans had hoped would yield a diplomatic breakthrough to wind down the war well before they must face voters in November’s midterm elections.

The measure passed on a vote of 214-208. The Republicans who joined Democrats in favor were Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. That was the same quartet that helped Democrats push through a similar war powers resolution last month.

“My position hasn’t changed,” Barrett, who is among the most politically vulnerable Republicans in the House, said in a statement after the vote. “Only Congress has the authority to authorize military action in Iran. I remain ready to work with anyone to eliminate hostile threats to our nation without getting us into another endless war.”

The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was among the final matters the House voted on before leaving Washington for a five-week summer recess. Many Democrats predicted that members of Congress would hear from voters during the break about how frustrated they are with the course of the war.

A Washington Post-Ipsos poll released last week found that only 29% of Americans support the war in Iran. A POLITICO poll found that Trump supporters who identified as “MAGA” voters said there were conditions to their continued support, with 37% saying they would only continue backing the conflict so long as prices for Americans did not rise. Global oil prices hit $100 a barrel Thursday for the first time since May.

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., said waning public support would likely push more Republican lawmakers to speak out more forcefully against the Trump administration’s unilateral approach to the war.

“When we come back in September, I bet we have more people joining with us saying, ‘All right, let’s wrap this up,’ ” he said Thursday.

The House vote underscored the growing divide between Republicans on Capitol Hill and the White House as the war in Iran drags on.

A growing group of Republican lawmakers has become more vocal about questioning the lack of congressional authorization or consultation, and also the administration’s failure to lay out a clear endgame. But Trump has shown no willingness to involve the legislative branch and little sign of winding down the campaign. Instead, he has escalated his bellicose language and asserted that he has unchecked power to continue the military operation.

Trump brushed aside Congress’ earlier rebukes last month, when the House and Senate both passed a similar measure, the first time since the conflict began in February that lawmakers voted to disapprove of it.

House Republican leaders are now pressing forward with a budget plan that would pay for the war, putting their members in the politically unappealing position of voting to finance an unpopular conflict that the Republican-led Congress has not authorized and over which it has exercised little oversight.

In the face of Trump’s disregard for the congressional action, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said he had begun the process to file a lawsuit against the administration for ignoring the resolutions.

“We have a situation where we’ve passed, now twice, war powers resolutions,” Meeks said in an interview Thursday. “The president should not be able to get around this.”

In the Senate on Thursday, a similar resolution stalled after only one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, backed it.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who previously voted to direct Trump to end hostilities or seek authorization to continue them, changed his stance. Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, two other Republicans who had backed similar efforts, did not vote.

It was the 12th time Democrats had forced such a vote, and they vowed to continue doing so as they implored Republicans to stop deferring to Trump and join the effort to wind down the war.

“As the war escalates even further, as more American service members are killed, as more civilians are killed, as oil and gas prices and other prices go up, this is an opportunity for this Congress to finally take responsibility,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who sponsored the measure, said before the vote. “We know the president has no respect for the law, but we have an obligation to our constituents. We should not duck that responsibility.”