US House Republican leaders cancel vote on limiting Trump's Iran war powers

WASHINGTON - US House Republican leaders on Thursday canceled a scheduled vote on a resolution to limit President Donald Trump's war powers in Iran.

Republican leaders would have had to flip several votes because half a dozen Republicans were absent, and party leaders could not have won the critical vote for the president, so they postponed it until after lawmakers return from recess in June, the Politico reported.

The resolution was introduced by Gregory Meeks, a Democratic representative from New York and the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"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," Meeks told reporters after the vote was canceled.

On Tuesday, the US Senate advanced a war powers resolution that would end the Iran war unless Trump obtains Congress' authorization.

The vote on a procedural measure to advance the resolution was 50 to 47, with every Democrat but one and four of Trump's fellow Republicans voting in favor, while three Republicans missed the vote, according to US media reports.