The House narrowly passed a resolution Thursday to halt U.S. military action in Iran, marking the second time Congress has moved to constrain President Donald Trump as the conflict enters its 12th consecutive day of American airstrikes and 18 U.S. service members have died. The 214-208 vote requires congressional approval for the war. A handful of Republicans broke ranks to vote with Democrats, sending a warning signal to the White House as gas prices spike and the war's $37.5 billion price tag climbs.
The Senate is expected to consider a similar resolution later Thursday morning. While largely symbolic, the votes reflect growing unease on Capitol Hill about a conflict that Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat who led the House resolution, said has had "no clear mission, no strategy, no end goal." Trump has insisted that continued attacks don't mean a return to war or long-term action. After the first House vote to halt the war in early June, he called it "unpatriotic" and "meaningless."
Twelve Nights of Strikes
The U.S. military completed its latest round of strikes on Iran on Wednesday at Trump's direction, marking a 12th successive night of American attacks, Reuters reported. The strikes lasted five hours and targeted Iranian military sites including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets. In July, U.S. forces have targeted dozens of Iranian military sites on land while resuming a blockade against Iran at sea.
On Tuesday, the U.S. used a B-1 long-range bomber to strike Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran, U.S. officials said. It's the first B-1 mission since fighting with Iran resumed 12 days ago. The bomber can carry two dozen 2,000-lb. bombs or dozens of cruise missiles, and it can fly faster than the speed of sound at low altitudes while carrying the largest bomb load of any type of bomber. The mission launched from an airbase in the UK and was spotted on online plane tracking websites.
U.S. Central Command said in a statement that "CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz." Reuters said the Iran war began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. bases. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have since killed thousands and displaced millions, Reuters reported.
Trump's Escalating Threats
Trump vowed Wednesday to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported. He's previously threatened to target energy plants and bridges. Iran's joint military command warned that if the threat was carried out, its forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity and economic facilities, state media said.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians, Reuters said. International law experts in the United States said in April that such attacks may amount to war crimes after Trump's threats. Trump's threat that month to destroy Iran's entire civilization drew wide condemnation, Reuters reported.
Congressional Pushback Grows
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators at a hearing Tuesday that the U.S. had spent $37.5 billion on the war so far. On Wednesday, Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base for the arrival and dignified transfer of the remains of four U.S. service members. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat who's leading the Senate effort Thursday, said, "I do think the combination of the hearings, plus the fact that we are in this new escalatory phase where Americans have been killed, and Americans are experiencing the rising costs — I think it's important that people be held accountable. And this is a very unpopular war."
As the House debated the resolution Wednesday evening, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., read out names of 18 service members killed since the war began. Mast said, "To belittle this mission is to belittle and demean the very service these members gave their life for. Their sacrifice was not meaningless. This operation is bringing reckoning for the hundreds of times Iran has attacked and killed people of the United States of America."
The top Democrat on the panel, New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, said presidents are supposed to make the case to Congress. He said the service members who died made the ultimate sacrifice for "an illegal unauthorized war that the American people don't want."
Political Pressure and Public Opinion
Republicans on both sides of the Capitol know that voting against the war can have a political cost, even as many have privately questioned the Trump administration's handling of the conflict. In his post after the June House vote, Trump called the four Republicans who voted with Democrats "GRANDSTANDERS!" and said they should be "ashamed of themselves." He said, "They would rather have our Country fail than give me another, of many, victories."
When the Senate passed a war powers resolution on Iran for the first time in June, the president attended a GOP Senate luncheon the next day and called the Republicans who voted for it "losers." Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican who lost his Senate seat in a primary after Trump endorsed one of his opponents, told Trump directly that he needed to give more details to the public about the conflict. Cassidy said, "This was supposed to last four weeks. It's lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved."
Trump argued back, Cassidy later told reporters, and Cassidy told the president that he wouldn't change his vote until he got a briefing. The White House later relented, giving Cassidy a one-on-one meeting, and the Louisiana Republican changed his vote in a late-night do-over vote before the Senate left for a two-week recess. Cassidy wouldn't say Wednesday whether recent developments would change his vote.
Most Americans disapprove of the way Trump is handling the situation with Iran, according to recent polling. A Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted in July found that few Americans think the war in Iran has been worth fighting, and most aren't confident that the U.S. military action in Iran and negotiations to end the war will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Only about two-thirds of Republicans approve of Trump's handling of the situation in Iran, according to the poll. Most Republicans, about 6 in 10, think the war has been worth fighting and are confident that the military action and ensuing negotiations will prevent Iran from development nuclear weapons, but a sizable share — about one-third — are unconvinced.
Why This Matters:
The mounting human and financial costs of the Iran conflict underscore the risks of executive military action without clear congressional authorization or public support. Eighteen American service members have died, thousands have been killed and millions displaced in the region, and U.S. taxpayers have shouldered a $37.5 billion burden while gas prices spike at home. Trump's threats to target civilian infrastructure like bridges and power plants raise serious questions about compliance with international humanitarian law, with legal experts warning such strikes could constitute war crimes under the Geneva Conventions. The bipartisan congressional pushback, though symbolic, reflects growing concern that the war lacks defined objectives and an exit strategy. With most Americans disapproving of Trump's handling of the conflict and even a third of Republicans unconvinced the war is worth fighting, the votes signal that democratic accountability and public consent matter in decisions of war and peace. The conflict's expansion threatens regional stability, civilian populations, and the constitutional balance of war powers.