House narrowly rejects limits on Trump as Iran war drags on

The House barely turned back legislation to halt U.S. military operations against Iran on Thursday, with Republicans supporting President Donald Trump despite continued economic fallout since lawmakers last weighed in on the Middle East conflict.

It marks the second time the House has declined to intervene since the war began. But the 213-214 vote was even tighter than the last attempt in early March, as several Democrats who previously broke ranks to support the military campaign switched their votes to oppose it.

But the impact of the war — which has seen oil and gas prices spike as Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, followed by a U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports this week — hasn’t yet broken Trump’s stranglehold on the GOP. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the only GOP lawmaker to vote to hem in the administration.

Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), who backed the last war powers measure in March, voted present this time.

The vote is largely symbolic, and the Senate defeated similar war powers legislation Wednesday for a fourth time since the start of the war.

And while Republicans are still backing Trump, a more significant deadline is looming. Lawmakers and the administration face a legal deadline later this month that requires Congress to authorize continued military operations, which could see the GOP splinter.

Though GOP leaders kept their conference united enough to defeat the legislation that they argued is political theater, the vote was still a sweat for the narrow Republican majority. Democratic leaders won back three of the four of their own members who helped sink the last war powers measure: Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Greg Landsman of Ohio and Juan Vargas of California. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) was the lone Democrat to oppose it.

Trump and top administration officials have projected confidence that the U.S. has the upper hand in the weekslong conflict, but much remains uncertain. A fragile ceasefire is set to expire next week, and peace talks led by Vice President JD Vance ended without an agreement.

The U.S. has ratcheted up pressure on Tehran with a blockade of the Iranian ports. Tehran’s earlier closure of the Strait of Hormuz has spiked oil and gas prices skyrocketing, which has become a political flash point as midterm elections near and made reopening the maritime choke point a priority for Trump.

Democrats slammed Trump and his administration over leaving Congress out of the loop and shifting rationales for the war. The sponsor of the resolution, House Foreign Affairs ranking Democrat Gregory Meeks, argued that conflict is spiraling into an endless war without a viable endgame.

"The two week ceasefire is set to expire on April 22. And thus far, neither side has indicated what comes next beyond continued blockage of the Strait of Hormuz,” Meeks said on the House floor. “We're standing at the edge of a cliff, and Congress must act before the president pushes [the U.S.] off. Every day we delay, we inch closer to a conflict with no exit ramp."

House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.) touted Trump’s actions to “end an imminent threat” posed by Tehran. In a tense floor debate on the Iran measure, Mast charged Democrats with playing politics with national security.

"I think they want America to lose,” Mast said. “That is why in the midst of this ceasefire that's going on, they are literally offering a resolution to say remove any and all U.S. forces from hostilities in or within Iran."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday that the military is “locked and loaded” to resume the war with Iran should President Donald Trump order it, and U.S. forces are at this moment “reloading with more power than ever before." Speaking alongside the Pentagon chief, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine boasted of American military superiority in the Middle East as the U.S implements the blockade.

At the same time, the war is quickly approaching an April 28 deadline that mandates congressional authorization for continued military operations. According to the War Powers Resolution of 1973, U.S. forces must be withdrawn from the conflict after 60 days unless Congress authorizes it. But the White House can still invoke a 30-day extension for national security reasons.

That deadline could force the Trump administration to more publicly outline an end state or show significant progress toward ending the Middle East campaign to maintain GOP support.

The Trump administration is also likely to send lawmakers a request for tens of billions of dollars to cover the cost of the torrid pace of military operations in the Middle East as well as to replenish high-end munitions used in Iran.

White House budget director Russ Vought told lawmakers Wednesday that the administration hasn’t yet settled on a final dollar figure for a supplemental proposal, though the Pentagon has reportedly suggested the cost could exceed $200 billion. The request will be yet another pressure point for the administration and will make for a politically risky vote for Republicans.

Paul McLeary contributed to this report.