House Republicans scrap vote to rein in Trump's war in Iran

House GOP leadership pulled a scheduled vote Thursday to rein in President Trump's military campaign in Iran after it became clear they did not have the votes to defeat it. Why it matters: It would have been Congress' first successful rebuke of Trump's Iran war effort after multiple Democratic-led war powers attempts had failed. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), the one Democrat who has consistently voted against Iran war powers resolutions, was planning to flip his vote to yes. Four Republicans, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Warren Davidson and Tom Barrett (R-Mich.) have voted in support of the measure previously. The vote is largely symbolic, as Trump can veto the measure. Driving the news: GOP leaders plan to bring the measure back up when the chamber returns from its week-long Memorial Day recess. Leaders held open a measure to establish a women's museum for 45 minutes as they tried to whip against the war powers resolution. Democrats were infuriated at the move, with House Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) getting shouted down by the presiding officer as he attempted to question the move. "We've gone from losing by one to tying last week to this chicken s*** retreat they did tonight," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Axios. Between the lines: GOP absences would have allowed the measure to pass Thursday. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can afford only a handful of defections on party-line votes when the House is at full attendance. Catch up quick : Previous efforts to constrain Trump's war powers on Iran repeatedly fell short. The House was expected to vote on the resolution Wednesday, but GOP leaders delayed the measure amid attendance concerns within their conference. Democrats' most recent attempt failed last week in a stunning 212-212 tie vote. Golden voted against that earlier resolution, while Massie, Fitzpatrick and Barrett supported it. Several lawmakers were absent. Zoo...

Original source: Axios