Washington — The House voted Tuesday for the third time to restrict President Trump’s authority to conduct additional military operations against Iran. Seven Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the measure.
The resolution passed 220-204, delivering a largely symbolic rebuke to the president over a widely unpopular war.
The measure attracted more Republican support than the two earlier attempts to curb Mr. Trump’s war powers, which came in June and July.
Three Republicans backed the resolution for the first time: Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn of Iowa. They joined the four Republicans who supported the previous measures: Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
The Senate’s plans remain uncertain, with only two scheduled weeks left in session before the November elections. A war powers resolution approved by the House in July has not advanced in the Senate. The two chambers approved another resolution in June, but the White House has challenged its validity.
Introduced by Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, the resolution instructs the president “to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”
Aug. 28 marked six months since the conflict began, yet the Trump administration has not presented an exit plan while seeking tens of billions of dollars more to fund the war. Mr. Trump initially forecast that the conflict would last four to five weeks. Although the Pentagon says Operation Epic Fury—the military’s name for the opening strikes against Iran—ended in May, U.S. and Iranian forces have continued trading fire. A ceasefire intended to end the war collapsed in July, while restrictions on oil shipments from the region continue to push global energy prices higher.
Mr. Trump has defended his approach, saying the fighting has weakened Iran’s military. Last week, he predicted that “the war will end immediately after the election.”
Republicans are seeking as much as $73 billion in additional war funding through the party-line reconciliation process. The House approved a budget blueprint in July to begin that effort, but the plan stalled in the Senate because it included money for Mr. Trump’s voting regulations proposal, the SAVE America Act.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Tuesday that the conflict could cost the United States roughly $2 billion to $3 billion each month for as long as it continues. From Feb. 28 through Aug. 1, the war is estimated to have cost the U.S. approximately $38 billion directly.
“The administration has yet to demonstrate that seven months of war have produced a lasting strategic resolution to the threats posed by Iran,” Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during Monday night’s floor debate.
