Stunning rebuke for Trump as 4 Republicans join Democrats to pass resolution halting Iran war

The United States House of Representatives Wednesday approved a resolution restricting President Donald Trump’s ability to continue the war against Iran, news agency Reuters reported. The House voted 215 to 208, as four Republicans voted with Democrats in favor of the war powers resolution, directing Trump to withdraw US troops from Iran unless Congress declares war or authorizes the use of military force, according to the report. “The passage of this WPR today signals a significant turning point: more and more Republicans are listening to their constituents who do not want another open-ended war ​in the Middle East,” Representative Gregory Meeks, a sponsor of the war powers resolution, said in a statement following the vote.

Although symbolic, since the legislation must pass the Senate and the ​House to become effective, the latest vote marks a rare bipartisan effort to curb presidential powers as the war entered its fourth month in June, Reuters highlighted. No Democrats voted against the resolution. Seven House members did not register their votes, the report mentioned. However, despite the successful voting, it faces a final hurdle at the White House, where the US president holds the veto power to block the measure, Al Jazeera noted.

The debate whether war powers resolutions would be constitutional even if they receive Congress’ approval also continues to prevail. The three previous war powers resolutions had failed in the Republican-led House, however, by slim margins. The Senate ⁠had put forward a separate, but similar resolution last month in a procedural vote, after seven previous attempts failed.

On Wednesday, the US House approved a procedural motion that paves way for a vote on the Ukraine Support Act, which aims to provide security aid to Ukraine as it fights against Russia, Reuters reported. The act reached the floor only after the petition reached a 218-signature threshold in May to proceed. Six Republicans and an ⁠independent member voted ⁠in favor of the Ukraine measure. Republicans also revolted against Trump’s plans to create a “weaponization” fund to pay his political allies, alleged to have been subject to governmental abuse, the report stated. Republican ⁠lawmakers also criticized Trump’s pick ‌of loyalist Bill Pulte – a mortgage regulator with no national security experience – to serve as acting director of national ​intelligence, the news agency noted.