The US House of Representatives passed a resolution to limit Donald Trump's war powers following the military's renewed retaliatory strikes against Iran. However, the Senate rejected the resolution, with Republican senators who had previously supported it not participating this time.
On Thursday, 23 Jul 2026 GMT+7, members of the US House of Representatives voted 214 to 208 in favor of a resolution to limit President Donald Trump's authority to wage war against Iran, with four Republican representatives breaking ranks to join Democrats in the vote.
This marks the first time since the US-Iran ceasefire agreement collapsed two weeks ago that the House has voted on a war powers resolution. However, the Senate rejected the resolution, voting 47 against and 49 in favor, as two Republican senators who previously supported it declined to cast their votes this time.
Although the resolution passed the House, it does not have direct legal effect because it is a "concurrent resolution" that is not presented to the president for signature. Even if it were sent, Trump could veto it, and overriding a veto requires a two-thirds majority in Congress, which is unlikely.
The resolution follows the death of three US military personnel in an Iranian attack on a base in Jordan last week, after which the US and Iran resumed intense retaliatory strikes.
Since the ceasefire collapsed, the US and Iran have been exchanging attacks continuously for 12 days, with Trump threatening to target civilian infrastructure and possibly launch a ground invasion, while Iran has vowed strong retaliation.
According to the US Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war, but the Trump administration claims Iran's actions pose an imminent threat, justifying self-defense to bypass the War Powers Act of 1973, a move legal experts view as evasive and unlawful.
The Democratic Party stated that the vote sends a clear message that Congress wants to reclaim war-making powers and called for an end to the war with Iran.
Meanwhile, the civil society organization POGO pointed out that the administration violated the constitutional 60-day limit on unauthorized war engagement and warned that if Congress is serious about ending the war, it must "reject" the recently passed $1.15 trillion defense budget in the House, which includes tens of billions for war efforts.
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Source:aljazeera