Democrats ‘committed’ to forcing Iran war powers vote in wake of US strikes

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) pledged that House Democrats will force a vote on limiting President Trump’s war powers in Iran as he criticized the president for striking the country without explicit congressional authorization.

“The framers of the United States Constitution gave Congress the sole power to declare war as the branch of government closest to the American people,” Jeffries said in a statement Saturday in response to the strikes.

“Iran is a bad actor and must be aggressively confronted for its human rights violations, nuclear ambitions, support of terrorism and the threat it poses to our allies like Israel and Jordan in the region. However, absent exigent circumstances, the Trump administration must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war,” Jeffries said.

He mentioned a war powers resolution spearheaded by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) that would make Trump remove U.S. forces from hostilities in Iran without congressional authorization.

“House Democrats remain committed to compelling a vote on this resolution upon our return,” Jeffries said.

War powers resolutions are privileged parliamentary procedures in the House and Senate, allowing members to bypass House Republican leaders to force floor votes on war powers measures.

But as of earlier this week, the resolution was expected to fail in the House given overwhelming opposition from Republicans and a few Democrats. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), both of whom are supporters of Israel, had announced their opposition to the resolution. Party leaders, though, wanted to get all lawmakers on the record for the vote.

Massie, in a post on X Saturday morning, also renewed his commitment to forcing the vote.

“I am opposed to this War. This is not ‘America First,’” Massie said. “When Congress reconvenes, I will work with @RepRoKhanna to force a Congressional vote on war with Iran. The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.”

Jeffries worried about negative long-term consequences from Trump’s strikes.

“If Iran’s nuclear program was ‘completely and totally obliterated’ by the military strikes in June 2025, as Donald Trump boldly proclaimed, there should be no need to strike them now,” Jeffries said in a statement.

“Equally troublesome, the advancement of security and stability in the Middle East requires more than military might, as we painfully discovered in several failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Trump administration must explain itself to the American people and Congress immediately, provide an ironclad justification for this act of war, clearly define the national security objective and articulate a plan to avoid another costly, prolonged military quagmire in the Middle East.”

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