WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday again formally called on President Donald Trump to end the war in Iran, days after four U.S. troops in the Middle East were killed.

In a 214-208 vote, the House approved a war powers resolution from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., that would direct the president to “remove the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

As with previous war powers votes, GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan voted with Democrats to push the resolution into adoption.

Congress already adopted a similar resolution last month. But as a concurrent resolution, it did not go to the president for his signature and therefore had little power to actually force him to withdraw troops from the war.

The Senate plans to vote later Thursday morning on a joint resolution (S J Res 180) that would similarly direct the president to end the war, but would be binding if signed into law. But Democrats cannot force a vote on that resolution in the House, and even if it were to clear Congress, Trump would almost certainly veto it.

But Democrats maintain the repeated votes still serve a purpose — to force Republicans to go on the record about a politically unpopular war amid mounting casualties and to send a message to Trump that Congress is fed up.

“There are multiple goals here,” Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told reporters after the vote. “The main goal is we want to end this war, stop spending this money, stop putting our servicemembers’ lives at risk. But we also have different goals, and that is to hold people accountable who have turned their back on their duty and on the Constitution and on their constituents, and not allowing them to hide.”

Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, D-N.Y., the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also said he plans to file a resolution later Thursday that would, if adopted, allow him to file a lawsuit to enforce the previous war powers resolution Congress adopted. He plans to try to force a vote on his resolution once the House returns from its summer recess, he added.

“I’m going force a vote on that so that we can now go to the courts and sue the administration for not following the will of Congress,” Meeks said.

The latest vote comes as the war heats up again after a lull in fighting while the Trump administration negotiated with Iran on a framework for further negotiations to end the war.

Last month, the Trump administration announced it had reached a memorandum of understanding with Iran. But less than a month later, Trump declared the MOU “over.” On July 10, he formally notified Congress fighting in the war had resumed.

Over the weekend, three U.S. troops were killed in an Iranian attack on a base in Jordan, while a fourth U.S. service member in Iraq died during what was supposed to be a controlled detonation of an unexploded Iranian drone.

Meanwhile, Iran maintains its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz and therefore the global economy, and Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen this week vowed to enforce a similar blockade in the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Trump has responded with escalating threats, posting on Truth Social on Thursday that “major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves” should the Houthis continue attacking ships.

U.S. forces have also conducted 12 consecutive nights of strikes against Iran, with U.S. Central Command saying Wednesday that night’s strikes targeted “maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites and air defense assets.”

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