Seven House Republicans back measure to end Iran war as GOP defections grow

House of Representatives passes new measure demanding an end to military involvement in Iran, with three more Republican lawmakers joining Democrats.

By World Israel News Staff

Seven House Republicans joined Democrats on Tuesday in voting to end US military involvement in Iran without congressional authorization, with three GOP lawmakers breaking with President Donald Trump for the first time as opposition to the nearly seven-month conflict widened within his own party.

The House approved the war powers resolution 220-204, with all 213 Democrats who voted supporting it and 203 Republicans opposing it.

Seven Republicans voted in favor, while nine House members did not vote.

The measure, H. Con. Res. 93, directs the president to remove US forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress declares war or specifically authorizes military action.

It contains an exception allowing forces needed to defend the United States or an ally or partner from imminent attack.

Tuesday’s vote marked the third time since June that the House has backed an effort to curtail Trump’s Iran war powers.

But the number of Republicans supporting the measure rose from four in each of the first two votes to seven this time.

The new Republican votes came from Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn of Iowa and Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

They joined Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, all four of whom had previously voted for measures seeking to halt the conflict.

Miller-Meeks and Nunn represent politically competitive Iowa districts, making their decisions particularly notable with the November 3 midterm elections less than seven weeks away.

Mace is leaving Congress at the end of her current term.

The first House war powers vote in June passed 215-208 with four Republicans joining Democrats.

A second resolution passed 214-208 on July 23, again with four Republicans in support.

Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War who sponsored the latest resolution, said Congress had a constitutional responsibility to scrutinize a conflict the legislature never formally authorized.

“Tonight, Congress did its job under the Constitution and said enough is enough,” Moulton said after the vote.

Speaking during the House debate, Moulton also recalled Trump’s early predictions that the Iran campaign would be brief and urged lawmakers to “actually ask tough questions, as the Constitution directs us to do.”

Republican leaders defended Trump’s conduct of the conflict and argued Iran continues to pose a direct threat to the United States and its allies.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, a Florida Republican, questioned what military assets supporters of the resolution would remove from the region and said Iran remained a continuing danger.

“They are a continuous ongoing threat to the United States,” Mast said. “Enough is enough.”

The vote came as the economic and military costs of the war have become a growing issue in Washington.

A Congressional Budget Office analysis released Tuesday estimated that Defense Department costs associated with combat operations against Iran had exceeded $38 billion as of August 1. CBO projected that continuing operations could cost roughly $2 billion to $3 billion per month, depending on the intensity of fighting.

The agency also estimated that disruptions to energy supplies stemming from the conflict could push inflation about half a percentage point higher than previously expected heading into 2027.

Trump has maintained that US pressure is succeeding and predicted last week that the conflict would finish soon after the midterm elections.

“I think the war is going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump told reporters September 9.

Trump accused Tehran of deliberately prolonging hostilities to influence the US elections, a claim for which he did not publicly provide evidence, and said his administration was not actively seeking negotiations, although he left open the possibility of talks.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also argued Tuesday that the conflict was moving toward a different stage as US allies assumed a greater role in stabilizing the region.

Johnson said the war was entering a “new phase” and predicted that reduced tensions would eventually bring down energy and food costs. Asked about the timing, he said, “I’d love it to happen today.”