In what is being seen as a rare act of defiance, Republican lawmakers failed to gather enough votes to dismiss legislation that would compel President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran.
Members of the House were scheduled to vote on a resolution, introduced by the Democrats, seeking to end the conflict unless Trump obtained authorisation from Congress.
It was scheduled to take place late on Thursday afternoon, just before lawmakers left on a 10-day recess.
But when it became clear that Republicans would not have the numbers needed to defeat the bill, party leaders declined to hold a vote on it.
House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, called Republican lawmakers “cowards” for pulling the vote he says they knew they would lose.
