The Republicans Who Have Broken With Their Party to Support Limiting Trump’s Iran War Powers

July 24, 2026:

The Republicans Who Have Broken With Their Party to Support Limiting Trump’s Iran War Powers

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week on June 25, 2026. —Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

The House on Thursday narrowly voted to restrict President Donald Trump’s war powers in Iran for a second time, with four Republicans again breaking ranks with their party to push the measure over the line.

Lawmakers passed a concurrent resolution calling for a halt to any military action in Iran without congressional approval in a 214-208 vote. The move is a largely symbolic rebuke against the President and the ongoing conflict; even if the measure passed the Senate as well, it would not go to Trump’s desk and would carry no force of law. 

But the vote for the measure underlines opposition to the war even from some members of the President’s party. It comes as the U.S. has completed its twelfth consecutive night of strikes against Iran after a cease-fire fell apart and attacks resumed from both sides earlier this month. 

The Republicans who voted in support of the resolution on Thursday were Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Tom Barrett of Michigan, and Warren Davidson of Ohio. The vast majority of GOP House members , however, once more voted against constraining Trump’s war authority. 

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who led the resolution, called Thursday’s vote one of “conscience” while speaking on the House floor.

“This is a vote that requires us to find the strength to do what is right for the American people,” she said, “and to send the clearest, even stronger message to this president of the United States that the United States Congress, the House of Representatives, is reasserting our authority over war. This war must end.”

The lower chamber previously passed a similar war powers resolution last month, with the support of the same four Republican lawmakers. Later in June, the Senate approved its own resolution calling for restricting Trump’s war powers for the first time since the conflict began after blocking such measures several times.

Trump called the House’s passage of the earlier resolution “meaningless” and “unpatriotic” in a social media post after the June vote. He has repeatedly gone after GOP lawmakers who have voted in favor of constraining his war powers.

Since approving the resolution late last month, the Senate has once again rejected multiple similar measures. It did so again on Thursday in a 49-47 vote; Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the sole Republican to join Democrats to vote in support of advancing the resolution.

Here are all the Republicans that have voted to rein in Trump’s war powers in Iran since the start of the conflict. 

Rep. Thomas Massie

Massie has voted in favor of every Iran war powers resolution brought to a vote in the House. 

“American servicemen and women are dying, and gas and fertilizer prices are soaring. It’s time to end this war,” Massie wrote on X following the passing of the resolution on Thursday, which he touted on his account. 

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick initially voted against a resolution to restrict Trump’s war powers in Iran in March, calling it “irresponsibly drafted and dangerously overbroad,” though he stated that “any sustained or expanded military engagement should be done with the advice and consent of Congress.”

Later, in April, he introduced his own resolution that proposed a phased-out withdrawal of troops.  

In May, after Trump pushed past the 60-day deadline established under the War Powers Resolution of 1973 for a President to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities if Congress has not granted authorization, Fitzpatrick voted in favor of a resolution to restrict his war powers. “We must keep the world safe, and we must also follow the law,” he said, referencing to the neglected deadline.

Rep. Tom Barrett

Barrett supported Trump over the Iran War earlier in the conflict, voting against previous resolutions to restrict the President’s war powers and saying in early March that Trump had “earned the opportunity to resolve this conflict quickly and with minimal casualties.” He also praised the President’s killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the outset of the war. 

In May, however, Barrett introduced an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to define the objectives of the war and provide a deadline for its end, offering 90 days for Trump to complete his goals. 

“The United States of America cannot be dragged into another endless war,” he said at the time. 

Since then, he has voted in favor of the war powers resolutions that have been brought to a vote in the House.

Rep. Warren Davidson 

Davidson has had a less consistent record than other House Republicans on the issue, having voted “present” rather than “yes” and against previous resolutions as well as voting affirmatively for others. 

The Ohio lawmaker, who is a former U.S. Army Ranger, has not said much publicly explaining the apparent shifts in his stance, but expresses the view on the “National Security” page on his website that the Constitution “gives Congress the solemn responsibility to authorize military action.” 

“When American servicemembers are put in harm’s way, Congress should debate the mission, define the objective, and ensure our servicemembers know that their elected representatives have their back,” the page continues.

Sen. Susan Collins

Collins opposed an earlier war powers resolution in early March, arguing that it would “send the wrong message to Iran and to our troops.”

But the Maine lawmaker has since changed her tune. In addition to casting the sole GOP vote to advance the measure on Thursday, she was one of four Republican Senators who voted in favor of the war powers resolution that passed in the upper chamber last month. Trump called the group “four Republican Losers” in a Truth Social post at the time. 

“These Senators have just made my job more difficult,” he said. 

Collins has expressed her disapproval over the war in Iran since late April, referencing the 60-day deadline that Trump then passed over.  

“The War Powers Act establishes a clear 60-day deadline for Congress to either authorize or end U.S. involvement in foreign hostilities,” she said in a statement on April 30. “That deadline is not a suggestion; it is a requirement.”

Sen. Rand Paul

Paul has voted in favor of each war powers resolution he has cast a vote on save one, for which he voted “present” to “give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace,” he said on X.

His stance on the war, and Congress’ responsibility to authorize it, has remained firm, however.

“The war shouldn’t have been begun without congressional permission,” Paul said in June. “I continue to vote to pull that power and to make sure that constitutional power remains with Congress.”

Paul was the lone Republican to vote on multiple previous, unsuccessful war powers resolutions.  

Trump called out Paul for calling him great but breaking with the rest of his party on one of the measures early in March. 

“Vote for us, and don’t call me great,” said Trump. “I’d rather have the vote, than the statement.”

The President also berated Paul and the other GOP senators who voted for the resolution that passed last month, after which Kentucky changed his vote to “present” on another such measure.

Paul did not vote on the resolution on Thursday.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski

Murkowski also opposed earlier war powers resolutions, saying that Trump ought to receive congressional approval for military action in Iran, but that a full withdrawal would not be beneficial. 

“There is no question that the President should have sought authorization from Congress before striking Iran on this scale, likewise bringing in our allies ahead of time as they now are equally in danger,” the Alaska Senator said in a statement in early March. “However, the abrupt cessation of all offensive operations would not leave any Americans—soldiers, diplomats, or civilians—in the Middle East in a safer position.”

She also voted “no” on another resolution in April, though she said that the “answer is not a blank check for another endless war.”

But she, like Collins, has changed her stance. Since May, Murkowski has offered continued support for measures to restrict Trump’s war powers. 

She did not vote on the resolution on Thursday.

Sen. Bill Cassidy

Cassidy has expressed his support for dismantling Iran’s nuclear program—which Trump has said is the primary objective of his war—but said in May that Congress has been left “in the dark” when it comes to the conflict. 

“Until the Administration provides clarity, no congressional authorization or extension can be justified,” Cassidy said.

After losing the Republican primary for his seat to a Trump-backed challenger, the Louisiana Senator criticized the memorandum of understanding Trump and Iranian leaders signed last month, which Cassidy called the “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.” 

“Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future,” he wrote on X in June. “Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal.”

Cassidy voted in favor of the war powers resolution that passed in June. But soon afterward, he voted against another after Trump went after him and the other GOP defectors. Cassidy said officials presented him a “plausible plan” for the war ahead in Iran. 

He joined most of his Republican colleagues in voting against advancing the resolution on Thursday.

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