The US House of Representatives has voted for a third time to limit Donald Trump’s authority to take further military action against Iran, in a 220-204 decision that saw seven Republicans break with the president.
The resolution, introduced by Democratic congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, would direct the president “to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran”. The vote represented a symbolic rebuke over a war described as largely unpopular.
Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Iowa Republicans Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn joined Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky in backing the measure.
The latest House vote to limit Trump’s Iran war powers attracted more Republican support than similar efforts in June and July. It remains unclear whether the Senate will consider the resolution during its final two scheduled weeks of session before the November elections.
A war powers resolution passed by the House in July has not advanced in the Senate. Both chambers adopted another resolution in June, although the White House has argued that it is not valid.
The administration has yet to set out an exit strategy, despite seeking tens of billions of dollars in additional funding for the conflict. Trump initially predicted the war would last four to five weeks.
The Pentagon has said Operation Epic Fury, its term for the initial strikes against Iran, ended in May. However, the US and Iran have continued exchanging fire, while a ceasefire intended to end the war collapsed in July. Oil shipments from the region remain constrained, keeping global energy prices high.
Trump has defended his approach, saying the conflict has weakened Iran’s military. He predicted last week that “the war will end immediately after the election”.
Republicans are seeking up to 73 billion dollars in new funding for the war through the party-line reconciliation process. A House budget blueprint approved in July began that process, but it stalled in the Senate over the inclusion of funding for Trump’s voting regulations bill, known as the SAVE America Act.
An analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated on Tuesday that the conflict could cost between 2 billion and 3 billion dollars a month for as long as it continues. The war is estimated to have directly cost the US about 38 billion dollars between February 28 and August 1.
Gregory Meeks, the leading Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during floor debate that “the administration has yet to demonstrate that seven months of war have produced a lasting strategic resolution to the threats posed by Iran”.
