Derek Schmidt

Kansas Republican representatives voted to support military action against Iran, opposing a resolution to end U.S. involvement.

The House of Representatives rejected a war powers resolution to end the conflict, with the vote falling mostly along party lines.

Rep. Derek Schmidt stated the president had legal authority for the action and that his vote supports troops in combat.

President Donald Trump described the military offensive, Operation Epic Fury, as a measure to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Topeka's representative and the two other Kansas Republicans in the U.S. House voted to support the war with Iran.

"I am convinced the president had ample legal authority to join this fight," U.S. Rep. Derek Schmidt, R-Kansas, said in a statement. "Although engaging Congress sooner might have been prudent, Congress is now engaged. My vote today supports our troops in combat. We did not seek this fight but speaking with one voice, we must support our warfighters as they finish their mission."

Under the U.S. Constitution, only Congress has the authority to declare war. It has not done so. However, the War Powers Act does authorize the president to take some military actions while also requiring notification to Congress.

Schmidt issued a lengthy statement after the U.S. House voted 212-219 on March 5 to reject a war powers resolution to end American involvement in the Iran war. He said the Trump administration and U.S. troops "have my full support."

"Today I voted against cutting off support for our dedicated troops in combat, against stopping short of completing their mission underway in Iran," he said.

The vote was mostly along party lines, though two Republicans sided with most Democrats while four Democrats sided with most Republicans. Schmidt was joined by fellow Kansas Republican U.S. Reps. Tracey Mann and Ron Estes in opposing the resolution. The state's only Democrat in Congress, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, voted for the resolution.

A similar resolution failed in the Senate on March 4, with U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voting to allow continued military operations.

President Donald Trump has described Operation Epic Fury against Iran as "one of the largest, most complex, most overwhelming military offensives the world has ever seen." The United States launched the first strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.

Schmidt said Iran has been "waging war against America" for "nearly half a century."

"This is not a war of choice for America; only the time and place of our fighting back were of our choosing," he said.

The Trump administration has offered a variety of justifications for attacking Iran, including regime change and ending a nuclear threat.

"An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be a dire threat to every American," Trump said in a video posted to social media on March 2. "We cannot allow a nation that raises terrorist armies to possess such weapons."

Schmidt said Iran's government has "refused to abandon nuclear-weapon ambitions even after the United States destroyed the regime's principal weapons facilities last year, continued to develop missile and drone delivery systems with expanding range, and smuggled likely terror cells into our country across our once-open southern border."

Schmidt is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and he said he received a briefing on March 5.

"The U.S. military mission in Iran is to protect America by degrading to the point of elimination the Tehran regime's warfighting abilities — notably its abilities to build a nuclear bomb; to project power through its navy, missiles and drones; and to equip and support terror networks," Schmidt said. "In my view, we must remain focused on that America First mission and guard against mission creep. Kansans do not favor another protracted involvement in a foreign war."