The United States House of Representatives has voted to direct President Donald Trump to end the war with Iran, in a rebuke that carries no force of law.
The chamber adopted the war powers resolution by 214 votes to 208 on July 23, with four Republicans joining every Democrat. Representatives Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky broke with their party.
The measure, brought by Democratic congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, would require the withdrawal of US forces from hostilities against Iran without express authorisation from Congress. “This is a vote of conscience,” Jayapal said.
It was the second time the House has adopted such a text and the fifth vote on one since the war began in late February. As a concurrent resolution it does not go to the President for signature.
The Senate then rejected, by 47 votes to 49, a motion to bring a binding resolution led by Democrat Chris Van Hollen out of committee. Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to support it, while John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat opposed.
Rand Paul of Kentucky, who missed the vote, has been among the sharpest Republican critics. “I’ve been opposed to the Iran war from the beginning,” he said.
Trump notified Congress on July 10 that military action had formally restarted after he declared a monthlong ceasefire over. Eighteen US service members have been killed since February and nearly 500 wounded, according to the Pentagon, four of the deaths coming since July 17.
The votes came as Brent crude closed at $100.69 (€88.48) a barrel, up about 7 per cent and above the hundred-dollar mark for the first time since May 26. Prices have risen more than 30 per cent this month after Iranian-backed Houthi forces struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea.
The Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and much of its liquefied natural gas, has been largely closed to shipping since the war began. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pressed for a toll-free reopening of the waterway and warned that energy dependency was again being turned into a weapon.
House Republicans have meanwhile advanced a plan providing up to $73 billion (€64.15 billion) for the conflict and $12 billion (€10.54 billion) in aid to farmers hit by the war. The administration has requested $67 billion (€58.88 billion) in supplemental funding and $1.5 trillion (€1.32 trillion) for the Pentagon next year.
Gregory Meeks, the senior Democrat on the House foreign affairs committee, said he would force a vote on a resolution calling on the speaker to sue the White House.
