The House Democratic leadership announced on February 26 its intention to bring to a vote next week a resolution that would require President Donald Trump to obtain congressional approval before using military force against Iran.
The initiative has a realistic chance of passing the House of Representatives—not least because some Republicans are also voicing objections as the White House moves closer to a potentially large-scale conflict in the Middle East. The war powers resolution is being advanced jointly by Thomas Massie, a staunch opponent of foreign interventions, and progressive Democrat Ro Khanna. Republican Warren Davidson said he had requested a closed briefing on the objectives of the mission in Iran and, in the absence of new information, intends to support the resolution. He wrote about this on X.
Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, joined by senior members of his leadership team, said the vote would be initiated “as soon as Congress resumes work next week.” In a joint statement, they stressed that the Iranian regime is brutal and destabilizing, citing, as they put it, the recent killing of thousands of protesters. At the same time, they argued that launching a war of choice in the Middle East without a full understanding of the risks to U.S. service members and the danger of escalation would be irresponsible. The authors of the statement also said that any such action taken without consultation with—and authorization from—Congress would be unconstitutional.
The document was signed, among others, by Democratic Minority Whip Katherine Clark and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, as well as senior Democrats from key committees—Jim Himes of the Intelligence Committee, Gregory Meeks of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Adam Smith of the Armed Services Committee.
Divisions persist within both parties. Despite the willingness of some Republicans to break with the White House, several Democrats said they do not intend to support the initiative. Josh Gottheimer and Mike Lawler said in a joint statement that they oppose the resolution. Jared Moskowitz also described himself as an opponent of the measure, while Greg Landsman said: “I would prefer to see their weapons destroyed rather than the loss of even more lives.” Another centrist Democrat, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that he also plans to vote against it.