WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The House on Thursday narrowly passed a resolution to halt , sending a warning to President Donald Trump as the war has escalated and the future of the conflict is increasingly uncertain.
The 214-208 vote requiring congressional approval for the war came just before narrowly rejected a similar resolution, 47-49. Though the votes forced by Democrats are largely symbolic, they are meant as a signal to the Republican president that his support on Capitol Hill is chipping away as the war drags on and lawmakers in both parties have questioned his administration鈥檚 endgame.
The war has had 鈥渘o clear mission, no strategy, no end goal,鈥� said Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat who led the resolution on the House floor.
The House resolution passed after a handful of Republicans voted with Democrats to end the war. But the vast majority of Republicans in both chambers voted to back the war and cede congressional war powers to Trump.
Joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in late February. A tenuous was reached in April, but Trump declared the ceasefire was 鈥渙ver鈥� earlier this month.
Trump has insisted that against Iran do not mean a return to war or long-term action. After the first House vote to halt the war in early June, he posted on social media that it was 鈥渦npatriotic鈥� and 鈥渕eaningless.鈥�
A statement of administration policy issued by the White House on Thursday noted that the resolutions don’t have the force of law and encouraged lawmakers to vote against them.
鈥淭he President has the Constitutional authority to defend the United States and our citizens from the danger posed by the Iranian regime,鈥� the policy statement said. 鈥淭his requires the ability to act decisively to ensure it never obtains a nuclear weapon.鈥�
Continued American airstrikes are occurring even as diplomatic efforts show little public sign of progress and officials on both sides have dug in on over the , a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed. The unpopular war threatens further worldwide economic disruption and is ahead of midterm U.S. elections this fall.
鈥淲e are in this new escalatory phase where Americans have been killed, and Americans are experiencing the rising costs 鈥� I think it鈥檚 important that people be held accountable,鈥� said Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat who led the Senate effort on Thursday. 鈥淎nd this is a very unpopular war.鈥�
Most Republicans vote to cede congressional powers
As the House debated the resolution Wednesday evening, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., read out names of 18 service members killed since the war began.
鈥淭o belittle this mission is to belittle and demean the very service these members gave their life for,鈥� Mast said. 鈥淭heir sacrifice was not meaningless. This operation is bringing reckoning for the hundreds of times Iran has attacked and killed people of the United States of America.鈥�
The top Democrat on the panel, New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, said that presidents are supposed to make the case to Congress.
The service members who died made the ultimate sacrifice for 鈥渁n illegal unauthorized war that the American people don鈥檛 want,鈥� Meeks said.
Democrats said they would continue to force Republicans to vote on the issue.
鈥淚f Donald Trump won鈥檛 listen to the people and end this war then Congress must,鈥� said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Trump is watching Iran votes closely
Republicans on both sides of the Capitol know that voting against the war can have a political cost, even as many of them have privately questioned the Trump administration鈥檚 handling of the conflict.
In his post after the June House vote, Trump called the four Republicans who voted with Democrats 鈥淕RANDSTANDERS!鈥� and said they should be 鈥渁shamed of themselves.鈥�
鈥淭hey would rather have our Country fail than give me another, of many, victories,鈥� he said.
When the Senate on Iran for the first time in June, Trump called the four Republicans who voted for it 鈥渓osers” and then reprimanded them at a Senate GOP luncheon that he attended the next day.
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the Republicans who had voted with Democrats, said afterward that he had clashed with Trump over the issue. He said he that he needed to give more details to the public about the conflict.
鈥淭his was supposed to last four weeks. It鈥檚 lasted four months,鈥� said Cassidy, who had just lost reelection in a primary after Trump endorsed one of his opponents. 鈥淥ur original objectives have not been achieved.鈥�
Trump argued back, Cassidy later told reporters, and he told the president that he wouldn鈥檛 change his vote until he got a briefing. The White House later relented, giving Cassidy a one-on-one meeting, and the Louisiana Republican changed his vote in before the Senate left for a two-week recess.
Cassidy voted against the resolution again on Thursday.
Polling finds Americans disapprove of the war
Most Americans disapprove of the way Trump is handling the situation with Iran, according to recent polling. A Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted in July found that few Americans think the war in Iran has been worth fighting, and most aren鈥檛 confident that the U.S. military action in Iran and negotiations to end the war will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Only about two-thirds of Republicans approve of Trump鈥檚 handling of the situation in Iran, according to the poll. Most Republicans, about 6 in 10, think the war has been worth fighting and are confident that the military action and ensuing negotiations will prevent Iran from development nuclear weapons, but a sizable share 鈥� about one-third 鈥� are unconvinced.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said that if Congress can’t force Trump to seek congressional authorization then lawmakers should block war funding. The House on Wednesday adopted a Republican-only , including money for the Iran war, but its future is uncertain in the Senate.
鈥淗e wants to break the law, fine, let him break the law, but we control the appropriations process, and that鈥檚 what we need to use,鈥� Kaine said.
___
Associated Press writers Steven Sloan and Amelia Thomson DeVeaux contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
