House Hands Trump a Loss with Passage of Iran War Powers Resolution

However, while four Republicans joined all Democrats in supporting the War Powers Resolution, the measure was largely symbolic — as was what its passage signified.

First there is the resolution itself, which now heads to the Senate. Even if it passes there, it seems unlikely that it would actually end the war because the White House would challenge its constitutionality and come up with all kinds of reason why it doesn’t apply in the first place. For example, the president and others in his administration have largely tried to avoid calling the war a war for this very reason.

Therefore, the fact that there were four GOP defectors — Reps. Thomas Massie (KY), Tom Barrett (MI), Warren Davidson (OH), and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA) — should also not be considered as a harbinger of a Republican uprising against the president.

However, what happened in the House is also not meaningless.

With primaries in more and more states wrapping up, Trump is losing one of the tools with which he pressures/extorts GOP lawmakers to do his bidding. For example, of the four defectors, only Barrett is still facing Republican voters, and the filing deadline has passed.

In any case, both he and Fitzpatrick should be more concerned about the general election, which might explain their vote against Trump’s unpopular war on Wednesday.

While it would be crazy to claim that the president’s grip on his party is weakening significantly, there are small signs of rebellion when he does things that are too unpopular, such as seeking $1 billion for his ballroom (which was stripped out of Senate legislation this week) or the $1.8 billion slush fund with which he wanted to reward supporters for committing crimes on his behalf.

And, of course, there is the war and the associated spike in gasoline prices, groceries, and other goods relying on raw materials that have to traverse the Strait of Hormuz.

Of course, Democrats tried to spin this into a major loss.

“The passage of my War Powers Resolution is a significant bipartisan rebuke of President Trump’s illegal and costly war in Iran, and the first step toward ending it once and for all,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“The passage of this WPR today signals a significant turning point: More and more Republicans are listening to their constituents who do not want another open-ended war in the Middle East,” he added. “Now the Senate must take up this measure and make clear to the President that enough is enough: If he won’t clean up his own mess, Congress will.”

That seems optimistic.

However, Wednesday’s House vote certainly doesn’t make things easier for Republican leaders who oversee a chaotic caucus and cling to a small majority that they have to keep together to advance the president’s unpopular agenda.