By Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic effort to end U.S. attacks on Iran, as Donald Trump's party continued to prevent efforts to rein in the Republican president's war powers.
Representative Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, presided over an abbreviated "pro forma" House session, ending it before a group of Democrats could seek to pass by unanimous consent the resolution, which would have called for an end to the U.S. military operation.
While Thursday's action was largely symbolic, top Democrats in the House and Senate have vowed to force war powers votes again when they return from recess next week.
Congressional Democrats have tried and repeatedly failed in recent months to pass war powers resolutions to force Trump to obtain lawmakers' authorization before launching military operations, in both Venezuela and Iran.
Trump's threat early this week that "a whole civilization will die" intensified concern among Democrats, dozens of whom called for Trump's removal from office. The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians.
"Threatening genocide is not a negotiating tactic," Representative Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat, told a news conference outside the Capitol after the pro forma session, held because Congress is out of Washington for the two-week Easter recess.
Trump announced that he had agreed to a ceasefire in the U.S.-Israel war on Iran on Tuesday, less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face devastating attacks on its civilian infrastructure.
The White House says Trump's actions are legal and within his rights as commander-in-chief to protect the U.S. by ordering limited military operations.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. The Trump administration has sought to portray the war as a decisive victory, although the top U.S. general said U.S. troops stood ready to resume fighting.
Trump's fellow Republicans hold slim majorities in both the Senate and House, and have almost unanimously backed all of his policies.
Although the U.S. Constitution says that Congress, not the president, can declare war, that restriction does not apply for short-term operations or if the country faces an immediate threat.
A RETURN TO IMPEACHMENT?
Almost since the beginning of Trump's second term on January 20, 2025, Democrats have lashed out as they accused him of usurping Congress' constitutional powers over federal spending and setting tariffs on foreign imports while testing limits on his military operations. Trump has also threatened to take over Greenland and end U.S. membership in NATO.
But one line nearly all Democrats in Congress refused to cross -- until now -- was even uttering the word "impeachment" in regard to Trump.
During Trump's first presidency, representatives twice impeached him, only to see Senate Republicans acquit him of abusing his powers and other charges.
Now, Democrats are openly raising the question of impeachment and encouraging use of the U.S. Constitution's 25th Amendment to relieve Trump of his duties, at least temporarily.
Their fears of voter backlash for again trying to impeach Trump have diminished since he threatened to bomb Iran into the "Stone Age" and wipe out all of Iranian civilization.
Impeachment "is a constitutional provision to rein in an unscrupulous, thoughtless president," Democratic Representative Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania said at the press conference.
"There is literally a list of high crimes and misdemeanors that he has committed," she said, referring to the conditions for impeachment that could be weighed if Democrats win control of the House in November's elections.
THE AFFORDABILITY 'CRISIS'
Democrats are attempting to link their efforts to rein in Trump on Iran to affordability, as disruptions in shipments of oil and natural gas have caused a run-up in U.S. gasoline prices and agricultural products such as fertilizers -- on top of the long list of other high consumer prices.
"We're spending millions of dollars on Patriot missiles to intercept drones that Iran launches from the back of a pickup truck and costs ten or $20,000, while at the same time in our home state of Virginia 33,000 Virginians have lost our health insurance, said Democratic Representative James Walkinshaw.
He was referring to Republicans blocking the renewal of an expired federal subsidy that lowered Americans' "Obamacare" health insurance premiums.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan, editing by Deepa Babington, Michael Learmonth and Cynthia Osterman)
