House Ties 212-212 on Resolution Directing End to Iran Military Operations

The House of Representatives voted 212-212 on Thursday on a resolution that would have required President Trump to terminate U.S. military operations against Iran within 30 days unless Congress explicitly authorized their continuation. The measure, offered by Rep.

Andy Kim, D-N.J., received support from all Democrats voting except Rep. Jared Golden of Maine. Several lawmakers in both parties were absent and did not cast votes. The resolution invoked the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which directs the president to terminate use of U.S. armed forces after 60 days absent congressional authorization.

The indefinite ceasefire that began April 7 has largely held, according to administration statements, though President Trump said Monday the ceasefire was “on life support” and repeated his demand that Iran end its nuclear program. Peace talks between Washington and Tehran have stalled in recent weeks.

The military operations began Feb. 28. The Senate narrowly defeated a similar war powers resolution on Wednesday; that marked the seventh such attempt by Democrats since operations commenced. One additional Republican vote in the Senate would have allowed passage.

One Republican senator who supported the Senate measure said the administration’s timeline in Iran had exceeded the 60-day deadline set by the War Powers Resolution and that hoped-for clarity from the administration had not materialized. Republicans countered that the resolution would impose an arbitrary limitation on the president’s ability to apply both kinetic and diplomatic pressure.

“By putting an arbitrary limitation on America’s ability to deploy both kinetic as well as diplomatic pressure on Iran, I think it ends up harming our ability to negotiate, to get Iran to stand down,” one Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital.

House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark said on the House floor Wednesday, “The single fastest way to bring down costs is to end this war. ” A Fox News poll from late April found that 55 percent of Americans oppose military action against Iran, with nearly six in ten saying the war will not improve American safety enough to justify it.

The president has argued that the ceasefire stopped the clock on the War Powers Resolution. Republicans have maintained that limiting the president’s tools would undermine efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to curb its support for terrorism.