The House voted down an effort on Thursday to halt the war against Iran and force President Trump to go to Congress for authorization, as a small bloc of Democrats joined nearly all Republicans in delivering an early sign of support for the war in the Middle East.
The vote was 219 to 212 to block consideration of a bipartisan resolution that would end offensive military operations in Iran that had not been approved by Congress.
The divide fell almost entirely along party lines, but it also highlighted splinters in both parties. Four Democrats crossed party lines to oppose the resolution, while two Republicans broke from their party to support it, citing concerns of executive overreach and disregard for the legislative branch.
“The Constitution is clear: Our Constitution provides Congress initiatory powers of war,” Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky and the lead sponsor of the resolution, said during debate on the House floor, directly challenging members of his own party.
Mr. Massie, who cosponsored the measure with Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, noted that the War Powers Resolution of 1973 allows the president to go around Congress and exercise unilateral authority to use force only if there has been a declaration of war, specific statutory authorization given or a national emergency created by an attack on the United States.
“None of those conditions exist today,” Mr. Massie said.
But Republicans opposing the resolution argued that Mr. Trump was well within his legal authority to use force.
“We have seen Iran as an imminent threat against America not just for the last four days, not just for the last four months or four years, but for the last 40 years,” said Representative Brian Mast of Florida, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
“Iran’s terror, which has caused the death of thousands of Americans — it has to stop,” he added. “They don’t warn us when they’re going to kill our Americans. They are an imminent threat.”
The vote came the day after the Senate also voted mostly along party lines to block a similar measure that would have forced Mr. Trump to win approval from Congress to continue the military operation against Iran.
Congress and presidents have clashed for generations over war powers, and administrations have long sought to expand the bounds of executive authority on military matters, often with little pushback from the legislative branch. The current conflict in Iran has resurfaced the debate.
Along with Mr. Massie, just one Republican, Representative Warren Davidson of Ohio, backed taking up the measure. Four Democrats — Representatives Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Greg Landsman of Ohio and Juan C. Vargas of California — broke with their party to oppose doing so.
Robert Jimison covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on defense issues and foreign policy.
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