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President Donald Trump is facing his first political defeat in the war with Iran. Votes in the House and Senate to effectively halt the military campaign this week could hand Democrats a rare victory and signal growing unpopularity of the war even among Republicans.
Defections within the president’s own party gave Democrats an initial victory in the Senate on Tuesday and could fuel an even bigger triumph in the House on Wednesday. After nearly three months at war with Iran, Trump may finally face a major setback in the conflict, albeit a political setback in Washington rather than a military defeat on the battlefield. While largely symbolic, given a possible presidential veto, the votes would be a major embarrassment for the president.
Republican dissent has grown as the administration is exceeding legal deadlines to end the war and skyrocketing gas prices are lowering the Republican Party's favorability heading into the midterm elections.
The initial vote in the Senate will force the chamber to continue debating the measure. But an even more important vote is expected in the House of Representatives, which could pass with a coalition of Democrats and a handful of Republicans.
The final vote count could still change in an election year with a tight House and high stakes. Senate Republicans are expected to try to block the final effort, after Democrats took advantage of Republican absences on Tuesday to advance the measure. And neither chamber has won enough support to override Trump's veto, which is almost certain if any legislation reaches his desk.
But Democrats say the steady rise in support for war powers limits, with eight votes in the Senate and three in the House, reflects public discontent with the war. A New York Times/Siena poll conducted between May 11 and May 15 found that 64 percent of Americans see the attacks on Iran as a wrong decision, compared with 30 percent who support it.
Wednesday's vote in the House of Representatives comes after supporters lost a tie vote last week, despite support from three Republicans, Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. This is the largest number of Republican defections since the war began.
One of the opposing Democrats, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, said he intends to support the “clean” war powers measure this week. House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to oppose the measure, but the final outcome could depend on how lawmakers turn out.
Massie, who has become one of Trump's most vocal Republican critics, lost his reelection bid Tuesday to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein in the Kentucky primary. Gallrein ran with Trump's endorsement, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth endorsed him this week in an unusual partisan twist for a Pentagon chief.
In the Senate, four Republicans voted to curb the war, including Sen. Bill Cassidy, who lost his primary decisively last weekend to a Trump-backed challenger. Cassidy became the target of Trump's wrath after voting to convict Trump after he was removed from office following the January 6th Capitol riot.
Critics took advantage of the Republican Party’s absences to win Tuesday’s initial Senate vote. GOP leaders are likely to push aside the war powers measure once they reach full turnout. But in another ironic twist, one of those absent Republican senators whose vote will be needed is Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who suffered a major political blow Tuesday when Trump endorsed his primary opponent.
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