Washington – For the third time, the House voted Tuesday to block President Trump from taking further military action against Iran, with seven Republicans breaking with the president. The vote ended with a count of 220 to 204, marking a symbolic rebuke of the president for the largely unpopular war. Tuesday’s resolution garnered more Republican support than the two previous efforts to limit Trump’s war powers in June and July. Three new Republicans voted in favor: Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn of Iowa. The four who supported the previous resolutions were Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Nunn, who is in a competitive re-election bid, said in a post after the vote that he “will not support another endless war.” “With the negotiating window closed, sustained combat operations now require congressional authorization,” he said. Miller-Meeks, another vulnerable Republican, added Wednesday: “The president needs to present a plan to Congress and the American people on how to end this so we can focus on bringing our soldiers home and lowering prices.” It is unclear whether the Senate plans to take up the measure in its final two weeks of scheduled sessions before the November elections. A war powers resolution that passed the House in July has yet to see any movement in the Senate. Both chambers adopted another resolution in June, although the White House has argued against its validity. The resolution, introduced by Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, directs the president to “withdraw the United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.” Aug. 28 marked six months since the war began, and the Trump administration has yet to devise an exit strategy as it seeks tens of billions in additional funding for the conflict that Trump initially predicted would last four to five weeks. The Pentagon has said Operation Epic Fury (the military term for the initial attacks on Iran) ended in May, but the United States and Iran have continued to exchange fire for months, and a ceasefire intended to end the war collapsed in July. Oil shipments from the region are still limited, keeping global energy prices high. Trump has defended his strategy in Iran, arguing that the conflict has degraded the country’s military and predicting last week that “the war will end immediately after the election.” Republicans are seeking to provide up to $73 billion in new war funding through the partisan reconciliation process. The House adopted a budget bill in July to start the process, but it stalled in the Senate over the inclusion of funding for Trump’s voting regulations bill known as the SAVE America Act. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released an analysis Tuesday that estimated the war with Iran could cost roughly $2 billion to $3 billion a month as long as it continues. Between February 28 and August 1, the war is estimated to have directly cost the United States around $38 billion. “The administration has yet to demonstrate that seven months of war has produced a lasting strategic resolution to the threats posed by Iran,” Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during Monday night’s debate. More from CBS News Go deeper with The Free Press
