Faced with the prospect of having to uphold one of Congress’ core responsibilities, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R–La.) took the coward’s way out.
He cut and ran.
House Republican leaders canceled a vote Thursday night on a bill that called for halting President Donald Trump’s war with Iran. With some Republicans poised to break ranks and others absent, Politico reports, the war powers resolution likely would have passed—and even without Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.), an outspoken critic of the war who had not yet returned to Washington after suffering a defeat in Tuesday’s primary.
With the vote canceled, the House recessed until June, thus “avoiding a political embarrassment to President Donald Trump,” notes Politico.
Instead, it is Johnson who ought to be embarrassed.
Deciding when America goes to war is a power exclusively reserved to Congress. Even though Congress hasn’t formally declared war since World War II, America’s other, recent misadventures in the Middle East were at least subject to public debate, and lawmakers granted authorization for the use of military force.
That did not happen with the war in Iran, which the Trump administration launched in February without getting permission from Congress. The Pentagon and White House made a half-hearted attempt to justify the conflict as a response to an imminent threat against American troops—but that case is far from believable, as Reason‘s Matthew Petti has explained.
Congress has been slow to respond. But, with the conflict nearing the end of its third month (and having accomplished little besides choking off vital supply chains and raising prices), America’s elected representatives are finally getting their act together.
The Senate voted earlier this week to advance a war powers resolution. “Until the administration provides clarity, no congressional authorization or extension can be justified,” wrote Sen. Bill Cassidy (R–La.) in a post on X after voting for the resolution.
Previous efforts in the House had fallen short, but the tide seems to have turned. Polls show the war is deeply unpopular, and even Republican voters are turning against it.
Under the terms of the War Powers Act of 1973, presidents have 60 days to obtain congressional authorization for an ongoing conflict. That deadline has come and gone. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has argued that the 60-day clock does not apply because the two countries agreed to a temporary cease-fire in early April.
The resolutions being debated in Congress are an attempt to enforce that limitation and order the president to withdraw American forces from the conflict. It is ultimately a symbolic gesture because Trump could veto the resolution if it passed.
All the more reason why Johnson’s cowardice is so remarkable. Why should he have to protect Trump from having to issue a veto? The president started a war without congressional authorization; he should have to own it.
This sort of cowardice is nothing new for Johnson. It calls to mind the ridiculous maneuver that Johnson and his fellow House GOP leaders used to block votes disapproving of Trump’s tariffs. They changed the House’s rules so that a “day” on the House calendar no longer counted as a day in real life, thus undermining a law meant to check executive power over trade.
Johnson is seemingly incapable of standing up to the Trump administration, even when one of Congress’ core responsibilities is at stake.
With the House now in recess until June, Trump gets a few more weeks to wrap up his undeclared and unlawful war—a conflict that Trump said was “very complete” all the way back on March 9.
“Republicans are too scared to check executive power,” wrote Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D–Colo.) on Twitter after Thursday’s vote was canceled. “They knew they’d lose. So instead of ending Trump’s illegal war in Iran, they killed the vote. Too weak to follow the Constitution. Too loyal to Trump to do their jobs.”
