House Votes to Restrain Trump’s Iran War Powers

WASHINGTON — The House voted on Thursday to force President Trump to go to Congress for authorization before taking further military action against Iran, in a sharp rebuke of his decision to ratchet up hostilities with Tehran without the explicit approval of the legislative branch.

The vote was 224 to 194, almost entirely along party lines, to curtail Mr. Trump’s war-making power. It followed a bitterly partisan debate in which Democrats insisted that the president must involve Congress in any escalation against Iran, and Republicans — following Mr. Trump’s lead — accused Democrats of coddling the enemy by questioning the commander in chief at a dangerous moment.
Democrats, joined by two Republican senators, have raised questions about Mr. Trump’s rationale and justification for ordering the drone strike last week that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, casting doubt that there was an imminent threat that warranted a deeply provocative action.

In pressing forward with the War Powers Resolution, they reignited a bitter dispute that pits presidential power against congressional prerogatives and voiced grave concern that if they did not step in to check Mr. Trump, he could careen toward war with Iran without consulting Congress.