House Delays Vote on Iran War Powers Resolution as Republicans Struggle to Find Support

The House delayed votes on a Senate war powers resolution from May 22, 2026, into June 2026 as Republicans lacked support to dismiss it. Representative Jared Golden of Maine switched his vote, saying he would support the resolution after previously opposing it. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 gives presidents 60 days before Congress must authorize force. The nationwide average gasoline price reached $4.53 as of May 20, 2026.

House vote delay

• ▪House Republican leaders declined to hold a vote on the Iran war powers resolution on May 22, 2026, because they would not have the numbers to defeat the bill.
• ▪Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks of New York sponsored the House war powers resolution concerning Iran.
• ▪The U.S. House of Representatives delayed a planned vote on a war powers resolution concerning Iran into June 2026.
• ▪Representative Jared Golden of Maine, the lone Democrat who voted against the war powers resolution the week before May 22, 2026, said he would vote in favor of the legislation the second time.
• ▪Representative Brian Mast is the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee as of May 2026.
• ▪A House war powers resolution on Iran nearly passed the week before May 22, 2026, falling on a tie vote as three Republicans voted in favor.

Senate war powers resolution

• ▪A Senate war powers resolution on Iran advanced to a final vote during the week of May 18, 2026, when four Republican senators supported the resolution and three others were absent from the vote.

Congressional frustration with Iran war

• ▪Democratic senators rallied outside the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2026, alongside VoteVets, a left-leaning veterans' advocacy group.
• ▪Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, voted for an Iran war powers resolution for the first time during the week of May 18, 2026.
• ▪The stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz disrupts global shipping as of May 2026.
• ▪Rank-and-file Republicans in Congress are increasingly willing to defy President Donald Trump over the Iran conflict as of May 2026.
• ▪Senator Thom Tillis expressed frustration with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's handling of the Iran war as of May 2026.

War Powers Resolution legal dispute

• ▪The Iran war powers legislation before the House on May 22, 2026, was a concurrent resolution that lawmakers said would take effect without President Trump's signature if it passed both chambers of Congress.
• ▪President Donald Trump has argued that the War Powers Resolution of 1973 is unconstitutional.
• ▪The War Powers Resolution of 1973 gives presidents 60 days to engage in a military conflict before Congress must either declare war or authorize the use of military force.

Rising gasoline prices

• ▪The nationwide average price of gasoline in the United States reached $4.53 as of May 20, 2026.
• ▪The stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz elevates gas prices in the United States as of May 2026.

Republican divisions over Trump policy

• ▪Senator Thom Tillis said he would be willing to vote for an authorization for use of military force against Iran as of May 2026.
• ▪President Donald Trump said he was just an hour away from ordering another strike on Iran earlier in the week of May 18, 2026, but held off because Gulf allies said they were engaged in negotiations to end the war.
• ▪Some Republican members of Congress are saying President Trump's legal timeline to wage a war without congressional approval has expired as of May 2026.

Perspective of Republican congressional members opposing Trump's Iran policy

• ▪Some Republican members of Congress are saying President Trump's legal timeline to wage a war without congressional approval has expired as of May 2026.
• ▪Senator Thom Tillis expressed frustration with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's handling of the Iran war as of May 2026.

Perspective of Trump administration

• ▪President Donald Trump has argued that the War Powers Resolution of 1973 is unconstitutional.

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