Matsui Hails House Passage of Iran War Powers Resolution as Rebuke to Trump

The U.S. House on Wednesday approved a war powers resolution directing President Donald Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress authorizes continued military action, marking a significant bipartisan rebuke of the administration’s handling of the conflict.

The measure, H. Con. Res. 86, passed 215-208 and represents the first successful House effort to challenge Trump’s Iran war policy after several previous attempts failed. A small group of Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the resolution, underscoring growing unease in Congress over the nearly four-month conflict and questions about presidential war-making authority.

Among those voting in favor was Rep. Doris Matsui, who said the resolution was necessary because Congress never authorized the conflict.

“Today, the House took a critical step toward ending Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran,” Matsui said in a statement released after the vote. “I have fiercely opposed this conflict from day one because it never should have happened. Congress never authorized it, and American families should never have been forced to bear the consequences of Donald Trump’s recklessness.”

Matsui said public opposition to the war helped force the vote.

“This vote did not happen by accident,” she said. “Americans spoke out. Sacramentans made their voices heard. And I carried those voices with me to the House floor. After months of pressure and persistence from Democrats, Republicans were forced to confront the consequences of President Trump’s illegal actions.”

The resolution invokes the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which allows Congress to direct the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities not authorized by a declaration of war or a congressional authorization for the use of military force. Supporters argue that the Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the authority to decide when the nation enters war.

The House vote follows growing bipartisan concern about the administration’s conduct of the conflict. Last month, several Republican senators joined Democrats in advancing a similar Senate measure aimed at limiting the president’s authority to continue military operations against Iran without congressional approval.

According to reports, several Republicans broke with Trump and supported the House resolution, reflecting broader concerns about the war’s cost, duration and constitutional implications.

Despite its passage, the measure faces uncertain prospects. The resolution must still clear the Senate and would likely face a presidential veto. Congressional supporters currently appear well short of the two-thirds majorities needed to override a veto.