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.Zoom in: Trump turned his fire on Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) on Wednesday, telling reporters: "He likes voting against Trump. You know what happens with that? It doesn't work out well."Fitzpatrick told Axios on Wednesday that he still intended to vote for the measure despite the president's threats. "We don't report to any party or any person here in D.C.," he said. The big picture: Republicans have largely backed Trump's military campaign, but unease within the GOP has grown as the conflict has dragged on without congressional authorization.Some Republicans have pointed to the War Powers Act's 60-day deadline, that has passed, requiring U.S. forces to withdraw absent congressional approval as a turning point.The White House argues that requirement no longer applies because of the ceasefire with Iran.
