US House narrowly rejects Trump’s resolution to end Iran war | the news

The US House of Representatives voted 219-212 against a resolution requiring congressional approval for further military action against Iran.

The United States House of Representatives has rejected a war authorization resolution that would have halted President Donald Trump’s war on Iran and required congressional approval for any further strikes.

Thursday’s vote was 219 to 212 in the House, where Trump’s fellow Republicans control a slim majority of seats.

It was the second vote in as many days after the Senate defeated a similar measure along party lines.

Under the US Constitution, only Congress can declare war. Presidents can unilaterally carry out certain military actions, but legal scholars have long argued that under established US law, that power applies only in instances of the country’s immediate self-defense.

“Donald Trump is not the king, and if he believes war with Iran is in our national interest, he should come to Congress and make the case,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The House also approved a separate measure certifying Iran as the largest state sponsor of terrorism.

The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, publicly thanked Trump for taking action against Iran, saying the president was using his own constitutional authority to defend the US against an “imminent threat” posed by the country.

Mast, an Army veteran who worked as a bomb disposal specialist in Afghanistan, said the war powers resolution was effectively asking “the president to do nothing.”

However, after launching a surprise attack on Iran on Saturday, Trump scrambled to win support for a war on Iran that conflicted Americans of all political persuasions were already wary of entering.

Trump administration officials spent hours behind closed doors on Capitol Hill this week trying to reassure lawmakers that they had the situation under control.

A drone strike in Kuwait killed six US military members over the weekend and Trump said more Americans could die.

Thousands of Americans abroad are scrambling for flights, many lighting up phone lines at congressional offices to get help as they try to flee the Middle East.