House Iran war powers resolution fails on historic 212-212 tie

The U.S. House voted 212-212 on May 14, 2026, on H.Con.Res.75, a 📖concurrent resolution sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) directing President Trump to remove armed forces from hostilities against Iran within 30 days unless Congress declares war. A 📖tie vote in the House means a measure . The resolution invoked Section 5(c) of the 1973 📖War Powers Resolution, which grants Congress a fast-track procedure to force troop withdrawals.

The vote marked the third time the House considered a 📖war powers resolution on the Iran conflict and the closest any came to passing. The first vote on March 5 failed 206-219. The second on April 16 , with only Rep. Thomas Massie crossing party lines.

Three Republicans broke with their party to support the resolution. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a libertarian-leaning member who co-sponsored an earlier bipartisan 📖war powers resolution with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), . Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Tom Barrett (R-MI) both flipped from no votes on the March and April resolutions to yes votes on May 14.

Fitzpatrick and Barrett both represent swing districts rated as toss-ups for 2026. Barrett had introduced his own 📖Authorization for Use of Military Force bill on May 7, proposing a that would expire July 30, 2026. His AUMF would limit operations to degrading Iran's nuclear program without ground troops or nation-building.

Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) was the only Democrat to vote against the resolution, on an Iran 📖war powers measure. Golden, a former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he opposed H.Con.Res.75 specifically because its 30-day withdrawal deadline had already passed. The resolution was originally introduced on March 4 with a 30-day clock that started from the February 28 beginning of hostilities.

Golden simultaneously signaled he'd support a future "clean" resolution. He told the Bangor Daily News he believes the 60-day 📖War Powers Act window and that Trump's unilateral military engagement authority has expired.

Several absent members shaped the outcome. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) hadn't voted since March 5, missing 68 consecutive House votes over ten weeks due to an undisclosed . Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL), 83, missed over 40 consecutive votes while . Both leaders pleaded with absent members to return. Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to come back for critical votes.

With both Fitzpatrick and Barrett now on record supporting 📖war powers constraints, the math could shift if attendance normalizes. A single additional Republican defection or the return of Wilson would produce a majority.

One day earlier, the Senate rejected its seventh 📖war powers resolution 49-50 on May 13, 2026. The vote was the closest yet in the upper chamber. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) , joining Republican Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Rand Paul (R-KY) in supporting the measure. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was the only Democrat to vote no, for the seventh consecutive time.

Murkowski's shift came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers the administration might . Hegseth testified that Trump has "all the authorities he needs under Article II" of the Constitution, dismissing the 📖War Powers Resolution's 60-day limit.

The constitutional stakes center on a 53-year-old dispute over 📖war powers. The 📖War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires presidents to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying forces and to withdraw them within 60 days unless Congress authorizes continued operations. Trump notified Congress of the Iran strikes on March 2, 2026, starting the 60-day clock. That deadline .

On May 1, Trump sent Congress a letter declaring hostilities "terminated" because no shots had been fired since the April 7 ceasefire. Democrats and a growing number of Republicans rejected that interpretation, pointing to ongoing U.S. naval blockade operations in the Strait of Hormuz and continued Iranian attacks that prompted American retaliation.

H.Con.Res.75 used the 📖concurrent resolution mechanism under Section 5(c) of the 📖War Powers Resolution. A 📖concurrent resolution passes both chambers but doesn't go to the president for signature. The Supreme Court's 1983 ruling in INS v. Chadha found such legislative vetoes because they bypass the presentment requirement of Article I. Congress later created an alternative fast-track procedure using joint resolutions, which do require presidential signature.

Speaker Johnson argued the 📖War Powers Act itself is unconstitutional, calling the prospect of Congress stripping a president's military authority "frightening." Johnson acknowledged he couldn't block the 📖privileged resolution from reaching the floor, telling reporters to prevent a vote on a privileged measure.

The Iran conflict began on February 28, 2026, when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. A ceasefire took effect April 7. By May 2026, the war had cost an estimated according to the Pentagon comptroller. Hegseth testified before both the House and Senate armed services subcommittees on May 12, facing bipartisan frustration over the conflict's duration, cost, and lack of congressional authorization.

The administration maintained that the ceasefire reset the 📖War Powers clock, making congressional authorization unnecessary. Michael Glennon, a professor of constitutional and international law at Tufts University's Fletcher School, told NBC News the administration's argument that the clock stopped . Glennon said the ongoing naval blockade means hostilities haven't actually terminated.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries whipped Democratic votes aggressively for the resolution. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, argued leadership shouldn't allow the 📖war powers vote to be treated as a "vote of conscience" because it's fundamentally about . In earlier rounds, four Democrats publicly opposed the Khanna-Massie version of the resolution: Reps. Jared Moskowitz (FL), Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Tom Suozzi (NY), and Greg Landsman (OH).

Gottheimer himself shifted positions over the course of the conflict. Initially opposing 📖war powers constraints, he became the sponsor of H.Con.Res.75 after criticizing the administration for failing to offer either a clear reason for starting the war or a plan for ending it. His resolution reduced the withdrawal timeline from 60 to 30 days.