House Republicans abruptly canceled a vote on a War Powers Act resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump's military operations against Iran. Democrats strongly criticized this decision.

House Republican leadership withdrew the vote after determining that the defection and abstention of some Republican members could lead to the bill's passage.

Although President Trump and his administration claim that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, has already concluded successfully, Congress, led by Democrats, continues to introduce resolutions urging the President to obtain congressional approval.

There have been seven votes in the Senate, all of which failed, but the eighth attempt passed a procedural vote. While the Senate's final vote is still pending, the margin has been narrowing.

The House has held two votes, both of which failed. However, in April, the resolution failed by a single vote, 213 yeas to 214 nays. In the second vote on May 14, the resolution failed due to a tie, with 212 votes in favor and 212 against.

In the second vote, three Republican House members—Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania), Tom Barrett (Michigan), and Thomas Massie (Kentucky)—voted in favor along with Democrats.

Axios reported that House members Warren Davidson (Republican-Ohio) and Jared Golden (Democrat-Maine), who voted against the resolution at the time, are expected to vote in favor of the resolution on Thursday, the 21st.

Given the narrow Republican majority in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican-Louisiana) can only afford to lose two votes from his party's caucus in a fully attended session.

The House was scheduled to vote on the resolution on Wednesday, but the vote was postponed due to concerns about party attendance, according to Axios.

Axios also reported that Democrats accused Republicans of completely backing down like cowards.

Last week, the Senate rejected the War Powers resolution for the seventh time. At the time, three Republican senators—Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Rand Paul (Kentucky)—voted in favor along with Democratic senators, while only Senator John Fetterman (Democrat-Pennsylvania) voted against it.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth argued that the War Powers Act's time limit was suspended because the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on April 7. President Trump also contended that the War Powers Act itself is unconstitutional.

A number of Republican senators pointed out that no past president of either party has ever halted military action due to the 60-day provision and made moves to create a separate resolution to allow military operations to continue.

According to an exclusive report by Semafor, hardline Republican senators in the Senate have been secretly drafting their own "Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) Against Iran" that limits the deployment of ground troops and allows short-term operations, enabling them to provide full support if President Trump were to abruptly resume military action.

However, even if Congress eventually passes the War Powers Act, President Trump can veto it. In such a case, overriding the veto would require a two-thirds majority in both houses, a threshold that lawmakers are unlikely to reach.

If President Trump vetoes the War Powers Act, Congress could still exert pressure on the administration through other means, such as limiting or conditioning funding for military operations against Iran, holding oversight hearings, or adding approval requirements to future defense budgets.

However, these efforts will still face significant political and procedural obstacles, according to Newsmax.

The Pentagon plans to officially transition from the current Iran military operation, "Operation Epic Fury," to "Operation Sledgehammer" and resume large-scale combat if diplomatic efforts ultimately fail.

This operation includes a scorched-earth scenario involving the deployment of powerful bunker-buster munitions (such as the GBU-72) targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) assets and key underground nuclear facilities.

One reason the Pentagon is changing the operation's name, according to media analyses, is to circumvent potential limitations on the use of military force (AUMF) by the U.S. Congress and to grant the administration additional discretion for military action by resetting the "60-day operational clock."

According to Fox News, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is continuing its blockade operations against Iran, having rerouted 85 tankers and merchant vessels heading to or attempting to violate the blockade of Iran, and disabling four vessels.

U.S. NNP=Chief Reporter Sung Ku Hong / Special Correspondent NNP info@newsandpost.com