Republicans block vote: Trump keeps "free hand"

Republicans struggled on Thursday to gather enough votes to reject a bill that would have forced President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying the planned vote until June.

The vote had been scheduled for late Thursday afternoon, just before lawmakers left Washington for the Memorial Day recess. However, as it became clear that Republicans would not have enough support to defeat the proposal, party leaders chose to postpone the vote, according to the Associated Press.

Leading Democratic Representative on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and sponsor of the bill, Gregory Meeks, told reporters that Republican leaders in the House delayed the vote until early June. “We had the votes beyond any doubt, and they knew it. As a result, they are playing political games,” Meeks said.

House Republican leader Steve Scalise told reporters the vote was postponed to give absent lawmakers a chance to participate.

Democrats and several Republicans have called for Trump to come before Congress regarding authorization for the use of military force, noting that the Constitution grants Congress—not the president—the power to declare war.

Officials have expressed concern that Trump may have “dragged the country into a prolonged conflict without presenting a strategy,” Reuters reported.

Most Republicans and the White House maintain that Trump’s actions are legal and fall within his authority as commander-in-chief to protect the United States.

Republicans control both the House and the Senate. The Senate passed a separate war powers resolution on Tuesday by a 50–47 vote, with four Republicans joining Democrats, one opposing, and three absent.

The House had previously blocked three similar war powers resolutions earlier this year in close votes, with near-unanimous Republican support, highlighting strong backing within the party for the president’s stance on Iran.