US House passes measure to block further Trump military action in Iran
The US House of Representatives passed a measure that seeks to halt President Donald Trump from taking further military action in Iran according to BBC.
The 215-208 vote was successful after four Republicans joined Democrats in a rare public show of disapproval of the war, which began in February. This is the fourth attempt by the House to rein in Trump’s war powers, which critics say lack congressional approval.
The House resolution still needs approval from the Republican-controlled US Senate. Even if it were successful in the Senate, the measure is unlikely to fully curb military action against Iran.
Trump could veto the measure, which would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers to nullify.
Despite a ceasefire agreement, both the US and Iran have exchanged strikes in recent days. Ahead of the vote, Trump again asserted that negotiations to end the war are going “very well” and could be finalised this weekend.
Republicans Thomas Massie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Barrett, and Warren Davidson joined a united front from Democrats to pass Wednesday’s resolution. Democrat Jared Golden of Maine, who had previously voted against similar measures, gave his support this time.
The Senate has passed a similar resolution in May, but will need to take up this version advanced by the House.
Representative Gregory Meeks, the leading Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs committee, described the vote as “a significant bipartisan rebuke of President Trump’s illegal and costly war in Iran and the first step toward ending it once and for all”.
Meeks added that Trump had failed to achieve the war’s stated aims while pushing fuel prices at home and making a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear programme even more difficult to achieve.
“The passage of this [measure] today signals a significant turning point: more and more Republicans are listening to their constituents who do not want another open-ended war in the Middle East,” Meeks, who co-sponsored the resolution, said.