The House voted late Tuesday to tell President Trump to end the fighting in Iran. The measure passed 220 to 204 after every one of the 213 Democrats and Seven Republicans voted yes. This was the third time the House tried to stop this conflict without Congress saying yes first. The New York Post reported that this split happened as the war dragged into its seventh month.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced the vote earlier that same day. He also pushed articles to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Massie says Hegseth knowingly followed orders to start a war without Congress. The Washington Examiner noted that Massie lost his primary bid in May but still led the charge.
Those seven Republicans who said yes were Tom Barrett, Warren Davidson, Brian Fitzpatrick, Nancy Mace, Thomas Massie, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Zach Nunn. They come from Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Iowa. Eight other GOP members were not in the room for the vote. The New York Post said this was likely the last action on this war before the November 3 midterm elections.
The money numbers are hard to ignore. The Congressional Budget Office said the war has cost more than $38 billion as of Aug. 1. It will cost another $2 billion to $3 billion every single month. That depends on how hard the fighting gets. The CBO also projected that inflation will be 0.5 percentage points higher in 2027 because of this war.
Regular people are already feeling the pinch. Americans are struggling with high prices and record-high costs for diesel fuel. The conflict has messed up the flow of oil from around the world. Rep. Seth Moulton asked a sharp question during the debate. He remarked that Donald Trump had claimed the war would endure merely a few weeks.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters the war is entering a “new phase” soon. He believes US allies will help stabilize the Middle East. As he noted, once that occurs, gas prices will fall again, and grocery costs will drop too, just as the president stated. Johnson added that he wishes it could happen today.
This vote was about who holds the power to start a war. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 lets a president fight for 60 days without Congress. It adds a 30-day period to pull troops out under certain rules. Supporters say that time is already up. They argue it is Congress job to declare war, not the White House.
The Trump administration says the president has the right to act as commander in chief. They claim the resolution would stop him from protecting US forces. Vice President JD Vance agreed with Trump that the war ends “right after” the midterms. He gave this interview to The Post on Monday. He also noted that the war has seen months of back-and-forth strikes.
Rep. Tom Barrett told Fox News he has been consistent on this rule since the 60 days passed. Rep. Jason Crow said Democrats would force “vote after vote after vote” to rein in Trump. He noted that Americans from both parties have had enough. An Ipsos poll from April showed 71% of Americans think the US should not be involved in Iran.
