The United States House of Representatives was expected on Thursday to vote down an attempt to restrict President Donald Trump from continuing military action against Iran without congressional approval.
Under the US Constitution, only Congress has the authority to declare war. The effort to curb the president’s powers comes amid growing criticism that the conflict was launched without seeking lawmakers’ authorisation.
Lawmakers were scheduled to vote on a bipartisan resolution introduced by Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna. The proposal would require Trump to obtain approval from Congress before continuing military operations against Tehran.
However, the resolution was widely expected to fail, coming a day after the United States Senate rejected a similar measure. The development reflects limited willingness among lawmakers — particularly Republicans — to challenge the White House in the early stages of the conflict.
Even if the resolution were approved, Trump could veto it, a move that would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of the United States Congress to override — a threshold considered highly unlikely under the current political balance.
The vote comes less than a week after the United States and Israel launched a large-scale military campaign targeting Iran’s missile facilities, naval assets, and other strategic infrastructure.
The strikes have reportedly killed several senior Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and prompted retaliatory attacks across the region.
The conflict has also resulted in American casualties, with six US servicemembers killed in retaliatory strikes, including an attack on a US base in Kuwait. The developments have intensified pressure on lawmakers to weigh in on a war that has not been formally authorised by Congress.
Meanwhile, Democrats argue that the administration has provided shifting explanations for the strikes and has not shown clear evidence that Iran posed an immediate threat requiring urgent military action.
