House Republicans abruptly canceled a scheduled Thursday vote on legislation that would have forced an end to the U.S. conflict with Iran, sidestepping what appeared to be certain passage and protecting the Trump administration from a legislative rebuke.
The move prompted sharp criticism from Democratic leadership. House Democrats Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark, and Pete Aguilar denounced the decision in a joint statement, accusing Republicans of acting as a "wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trump administration" and pulling the measure to avoid a vote that "would have passed with bipartisan support."
The Democrats charged that Trump had "forced America and our men and women in uniform into a reckless and costly war of choice in Iran" without clear objectives, an exit strategy, or the congressional authorization required by law. They specifically named Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as jointly responsible for the decision to go to war.
Republican lawmakers acknowledged the resolution had momentum. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Philadelphia-area representative who broke ranks last week to support similar Iran war powers legislation and drew Trump's personal ire for the vote, predicted the measure would pass when brought back. "The next time they bring it, it's passing," Fitzpatrick said.
The vote has been rescheduled for June after the congressional recess. Among the Republican representatives absent Thursday but expected to vote in June is Kentucky's Thomas Massie, a longtime skeptic of U.S. military involvement in Iran. Massie lost his primary election this week to a Trump-backed challenger, a development that came after the president's frustration with Massie's role in forcing the Justice Department to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier with whom Trump had long socialized.
The cancellation represents the latest signal of eroding support for the administration's Iran policy within Congress. Earlier in the week, four Republicans joined Senate Democrats in advancing a companion war powers resolution, marking the eighth attempt by the upper chamber to move the bill.
Author James Rodriguez: "When House Republicans have to hide from a vote they know they'll lose, it tells you everything about the political ground shifting beneath them on foreign policy."
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