US House Repeats Bid to Halt Iran Conflict as Middle East War Persists

The US House of Representatives voted late Tuesday to end the Iran war for a third time, aiming to curtail President Donald Trump’s capacity to sustain military operations.

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The roll call vote of 220-204 mirrored previous attempts made this summer, with a slightly increased number of Republicans joining all Democrats in seeking to conclude the conflict. None of the resolutions have reached the president’s desk, where Trump would almost certainly veto the measure.

“Remember when Donald Trump said that this war would last just a few weeks?” said Democrat Representative Seth Moulton, a former Marine who served during the Iraq War and championed the resolution.

He argued that Congress must “actually ask tough questions, as the Constitution directs us to do, rather than be subservient to another warmongering administration.”

Republican Representative Brian Mast of Florida, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, questioned which military resources Democrats intend to withdraw from a region where he maintains Iran remains a threat.

Mast asserted that Trump opposes “forever wars, and that is what he is ending”—referring to the decades of hostilities originating from Iran.

“They are a continuous ongoing threat to the United States,” Mast stated. “Enough is enough.”

Last War Powers Vote Before Midterms

The vote is likely the final House action on the Iran conflict ahead of the midterm elections, where the overseas war is playing a significant role in political campaigns. The war launched by Trump on February 28 has dragged on, with intermittent deadly missile exchanges causing regional havoc for nearly seven months.

Lawmakers are departing for home at the end of the week to campaign nearly full-time, with fewer than 50 days remaining before the elections that will determine control of Congress as Democrats attempt to wrest power from Republicans.

Voters are facing high prices, particularly at the gas pump, as the conflict disrupts the flow of oil resources through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The Congressional Budget Office stated Tuesday that the war has cost over $38 billion (€33 billion) as of August 1 and is projected to cost between $2 billion (€1.74 billion) and $3 billion (€2.62 billion) monthly, depending on the intensity of the fighting. The budget office projected that inflation will be 0.5 percentage points higher than expected heading into 2027 due to the war.

Trump had himself promised not to involve the US in foreign wars when winning a second term, and his actions against Iran are weighing on the Republican Party that controls the House and Senate. According to an AP-NORC poll from July, most Americans believe the war in Iran has not been worth fighting.

In previous House actions, four Republicans voted to halt the war in Iran, but that number rose to seven in Tuesday’s war powers vote. These include GOP lawmakers from battleground Iowa, Representative Zachary Nunn and Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, as well as retiring Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

They joined GOP Representatives Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky in voting in favor of the war powers resolution alongside all Democrats.

War Powers Put to the Test

Congress has repeatedly attempted to alter the trajectory of the war against Iran, but efforts to limit the Trump administration’s military action remain unlikely so long as the president can fend off or veto the measures.

The House first approved a war powers resolution in June, followed by another in July, all seeking to halt US action in Iran. The Senate also approved a war powers resolution to end the conflict on its tenth attempt, but GOP senators quickly reversed course the following day after Trump berated them during a closed-door lunch.

While the Constitution grants Congress the authority to declare war, it also grants the president authority as commander in chief to engage in certain military actions. The War Powers Act, created in the aftermath of the Vietnam conflict, sought to impose a more specific time limit on presidential power, requiring congressional approval for sustained military actions after 60 or 90 days.

House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged at a Tuesday press conference the necessity of reducing gas prices.

However, the Republican speaker stated he believes the Iran conflict is entering a “new phase” as allies step up to help stabilize the region. When this occurs, he noted, “you’re going to see, as the president said, anytime gas prices go down again, the cost of groceries will as well.”

Johnson stated that Trump expects this shift after the election, and the speaker added, “I’d love it to happen today.”

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