GOP leaders abruptly cancel House vote on Iran war powers, shielding Trump from rebuke [View all]

Source: CNN Politics

Updated May 21, 2026, 7:07 PM ET
PUBLISHED May 21, 2026, 6:44 PM ET


House GOP leaders abruptly canceled a vote Thursday on a resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s war powers in Iran just as Republicans were on the verge of losing the vote due to absences. The resolution was introduced by New York Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The congressman told reporters Wednesday that he thought House Speaker Mike Johnson had been stalling a vote on the measure.

“A lot of my Republican colleagues are feeling the pressure back home when they’re looking at the cost of food, the cost of gas,” he said on Capitol Hill. Democrats have repeatedly forced votes to limit Trump’s war powers in both the House and the Senate – a campaign that has slowly picked up more GOP support in recent weeks.

Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern spoke on the House floor to ask what was happening with the Iran war powers resolution that had been set to be voted on. “Are we not voting on it because the American people are sick and tired of this illegal war that is costing tens of billions of dollars? Gas prices are through the roof. People can’t afford, people can’t afford their groceries. Is that why you’re pulling it?” he said.

Meeks similarly criticized the move to cancel the vote. “Here we are on the eve of Memorial Day, with prices for gasoline going up, prices for food going up. We had a vote because of this president’s war of choice that was going to pass, we had the votes without question, and they knew it, and as a result they’re playing a political game, they’re cheating and have delayed the vote until we get back,” the congressman told reporters after the vote was delayed.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/21/politics/house-trump-iran-war-powers