By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly defeated a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop the Iran war until hostilities are authorized by Congress, but the effort to rein in President Donald Trump’s military campaign failed by the closest possible margin.
The House voted 212 to 212 on the war powers resolution, meaning it failed because it needed a majority to pass, despite more Republicans backing the effort.
Three of Trump’s fellow Republicans – Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky – backed the resolution, and one Democrat – Jared Golden of Maine – opposed it.
It was the third House vote this year on an Iran war powers resolution, and the first since the conflict hit a 60-day deadline on May 1 for Trump to come to Congress about the war. Trump declared then that a ceasefire had “terminated” hostilities against Iran.
There also have been seven failed votes in the Senate.
The votes have been getting tighter, with Trump’s fellow Republicans holding just a slim majority in both chambers. The last House war powers resolution failed on April 16 by 213-214, with one member voting “present.”
In that vote, just one Republican supported the resolution.
They also have been getting more narrow in the Senate, where a war powers resolution was blocked by 50-49 on Wednesday as three Republicans joined every Democrat except one in voting to advance the measure.
DEMOCRATS CITE CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY
Democrats have called on Trump to come to Congress for authorization to use military force in the Iran conflict, noting that the U.S. Constitution says only the legislature, not the president, can declare war.
They warned that Trump may have pulled the country into a long conflict without setting out a clear strategy and railed against higher prices for gasoline, food and other products since the joint U.S.-Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28.
Democrats have made affordability a central theme of their economic message ahead of midterm elections in November that will decide whether Republicans keep control of Congress.
U.S. producer prices posted their biggest increase in four years in April, boosted by soaring costs for goods and services since the war began.
“It is time for the president to come to us, and it is time for us, I believe, to end this war,” Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in House debate.
WHITE HOUSE CITES COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF POWERS
Republicans – and the White House – say Trump’s actions are legal and within his rights as commander-in-chief to protect the U.S. by ordering limited military operations when the country faces an imminent threat.
Some congressional Republicans have accused Democrats of filing war powers resolutions only because of their partisan opposition to Trump.
“It is 100% about theatrics,” Representative Brian Mast of Florida, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said during debate. He accused Democrats of giving hope to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by filing war powers resolutions.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Editing by Don Durfee and Matthew Lewis)
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