Four House Republicans crossed party lines Wednesday to hand Donald Trump a rare legislative defeat, voting with Democrats to advance a war powers resolution that would force the president to seek congressional approval or withdraw forces from Iran.
The House passed the measure 215 to 208, with Republicans Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan siding with the Democratic majority. The result represents the fourth attempt by the chamber to constrain Trump's authority in the three-month conflict.
The defection stung particularly because House Republican leadership had canceled a similar vote nearly two weeks earlier, confident they had the numbers to block it. Wednesday's outcome exposed that calculation as miscalculation. Now the resolution heads to the Senate, where lawmakers must take it up promptly under war powers law. Senate Republicans have already shown cracks on this issue, with four GOP senators voting alongside Democrats last month to advance comparable legislation.
The timing underscores the stalled state of diplomatic efforts despite repeated claims from Trump and senior administration officials that a deal with Iran is imminent. The conflict has stretched past 90 days with no negotiated settlement, contradicting the president's assertion that Tehran is desperate to negotiate.
The House vote was not the only defiance Trump faced on Wednesday. Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, made cuts to a Navy promotion list that stripped nine officers, including women and Black service members, leaving the final slate of 22 nominees for one-star admiral positions all male and overwhelmingly white.
Elsewhere, the White House plan to vet public grants distributed to universities and nonprofit organizations based on adherence to "American values" as defined by Trump sparked alarm across the sector. The proposal would hand Trump-appointed officials authority to evaluate nearly all federal grant spending at institutions receiving government support.
Trump also escalated trade tensions by threatening 10% to 12.5% tariffs on 60 trading partners, including the UK, EU and Australia, citing alleged forced labor violations. The EU immediately contested the move, arguing that the tariffs breach the spirit of a trade agreement signed last July.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans quietly dropped a push to fund $1 billion in security upgrades for Trump's White House ballroom after realizing the spending request could jeopardize longer-term immigration enforcement funding, a higher GOP priority.
In personnel news, Trump's choice of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence has imperiled efforts to renew a major surveillance program. Pulte, currently head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and a major Republican donor with no intelligence background, replaced Tulsi Gabbard in the role, raising questions about experience and judgment.
Author James Rodriguez: "A handful of Republican votes on war powers won't stop Trump's Iran strategy, but it signals that party unity on his biggest decisions isn't automatic anymore."
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