House Defies Trump Again, Demands War Authorization on Iran

A handful of Republican crossovers joined Democrats Thursday to pass a second rebuke ordering the president to obtain congressional sign-off before continuing military operations against Iran.

The House passed a war powers measure Thursday requiring Trump to seek congressional authorization for the Iran conflict.
It marks the second time the chamber has backed such a resolution, with a small number of Republicans again breaking with the president.
The vote underscores deepening unease inside the GOP over executive war-making authority.
Trump has not sought a formal authorization for use of military force from Congress.
The resolution now faces an uncertain path in the Senate, where Republican leadership controls the floor.

The House voted Thursday to demand President Donald Trump seek congressional authorization before continuing military operations against Iran, the second such rebuke the chamber has delivered in the current conflict.

A bloc of House Republicans again crossed the aisle to support the war powers measure, joining Democrats to force the resolution through over White House objections. The precise tally was not immediately confirmed, but the margin tracked the earlier vote.

The move puts fresh pressure on a president who has conducted strikes against Iran without requesting a formal authorization for use of military force from Congress. Democrats and a minority of Republicans have argued the action runs afoul of the 1973 War Powers Resolution.

Republican leadership has largely defended the administration's position, framing congressional action as an interference with the commander-in-chief's authority during active military operations.

The White House has not indicated it will comply with the resolution, which carries political weight but does not carry the force of a veto-proof statute.

The measure moves to the Senate, where Republican leaders have shown little appetite for scheduling a floor vote. A companion resolution is expected to be filed by Senate Democrats in the coming days.