LEXINGTON, Ky. — The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly defeated a resolution Thursday that would have required President Donald Trump to seek congressional authorization before continuing military operations in Iran, marking another setback for lawmakers attempting to reassert congressional control over the seven-week-old conflict. The measure failed 213-214, with only one Republican voting in favor. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., bucked GOP leadership and voted to limit Trump’s Iran war powers, joining nearly all Democrats in support of the resolution introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. Three Democrats flipped from opposing the measure in March to voting for it Thursday: Greg Landsman of Ohio, Juan Vargas of California and Henry Cuellar of Texas. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, remained the sole Democrat in opposition, saying the resolution “would weaken our hand” in ongoing negotiations with Iran. Meanwhile, Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, switched from supporting the measure last month to voting “present” Thursday. The House vote came one day after the Senate rejected a similar proposal for the fourth time, with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky being the only Republican to vote with Democrats on the measure. The Senate vote margin held at 47-52, largely unchanged from previous attempts. The debate over war powers has intensified as the conflict approaches its seventh week and a two-week ceasefire nears expiration April 21. Under the War Powers Act of 1973, Trump must obtain congressional authorization or approve a 30-day extension by April 28 to continue military operations beyond 60 days. Trump said Thursday the war is “very close to being over” and reiterated optimism about potential deal with Iran, but talks led by Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad, Pakistan, collapsed Saturday without yielding agreement. Meanwhile, U.S. military operations in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz are intensifying. More than 10,000 sailors, marines and airmen are executing a blockade on vessels from any nation sailing to and from Iranian ports, with 14 vessels having turned around in compliance with the blockade, according to U.S. Central Command. The blockade is causing significant economic disruption. Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz facilitated about 20 percent of global oil flows and 20 percent of global liquefied natural gas trade. Americans are paying an average of $4.09 for regular gas and $5.61 for diesel, according to AAA. The conflict has killed 13 American troops and injured 398, with thousands of civilians casualties across the Middle East since operations began Feb. 28. This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Kentucky Lantern, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/16/repub/us-house-narrowly-defeats-resolution-limiting-trump-war-powers/. The post House narrowly rejects Iran war powers resolution as conflict deepens appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less