Washington (CNN) -- The Republican-led House of Representatives rejected a bill Friday that would have sharply restricted funding for U.S. involvement in the NATO-led Libya campaign.
The bill, which would have effectively prohibited U.S. offensive operations such as drone strikes, was supported by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other top GOP leaders.
The measure was defeated in a 180-238 vote. Minority Democrats voted solidly against the measure, while the majority Republicans supported it by a narrower margin.
Earlier in the day, House members delivered a rebuke to the Obama administration by voting down a resolution expressing support for the war. The resolution, defeated 123-295, was similar to a measure introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, and Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona.
Republicans voted overwhelmingly against the measure, while Democrats voted more narrowly in favor of it.
White House press secretary Jay Carney expressed disappointment in the first House vote and told reporters the "writing is on the wall" for longtime Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Now is not the time to let up, he said.
Much of the House's disapproval of the Libya campaign has been fueled by a belief that President Obama failed to sufficiently consult with Congress before committing to military engagement. Specifically, representatives from both political parties say the administration has violated the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which gives the president 60 days to get congressional approval for sending U.S. forces to war, followed by a 30-day extension to end hostilities.
The combined 90-day period ended last Sunday.
Support for the war has also been further shaken by evidence of several noncombatant deaths caused by recent NATO airstrikes.
The White House says Obama didn't need congressional authorization because U.S. forces are playing only a supporting role in Libya and haven't engaged in what the law defines as hostilities. The president, however, personally overruled contrary legal opinions put forward by both the Pentagon and the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, according to a report published Saturday in The New York Times.
Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said during Friday's debate on the House floor that Obama's authority under the Constitution "does not free the president from accountability to the American people, this Congress or the rule of law."
The War Powers Resolution "is the law of the land and simply cannot be ignored," he said. The GOP-sponsored bill is necessary to "defend the constitutional authority of the legislature" and provides "much-needed accountability."
Some Democrats, however, blasted Republicans, accusing them of playing politics with what they called a critical foreign policy priority.
"This was not handled right" by the White House, said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. But the House votes are "nothing but politics," and "I don't want to abandon my friends in the Arab states who are now struggling for democracy."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday it would be a mistake for Congress to cut funding for U.S. military operations in Libya.
"I think, once we have our forces engaged, to deny them funding would be a mistake," Gates told PBS News. Key American allies -- especially the British, the French and the Italians -- consider Libya a vital interest, and "our alliance with them is a vital interest for us," he said, citing their efforts in Afghanistan.
Gates insisted that progress has been made toward the U.S. goal of ousting Gadhafi.
"Based on everything we see, the government gets shakier by the day," Gates said. "His forces have been significantly diminished. The opposition is expanding the areas under their control."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met privately with House Democrats on Thursday to urge support for the resolution backing the Libya mission, according to a Democratic source who attended the meeting.
"The bottom line is, whose side are you on?" she said Wednesday. "Are you on Gadhafi's side, or are you on the side of the aspirations of the Libyan people and the international coalition that has been created to support them?"
The allied military effort, which has formal United Nations support, was launched to protect Libyan civilians from violence stemming from a crackdown launched by Gadhafi. Western leaders have made clear, however, that they believe the mission cannot be successfully completed without Gadhafi's ouster.
The White House has promised not to use U.S. ground troops, but bipartisan congressional opposition to the military campaign has nevertheless been mounting over several weeks. In addition to concerns about the War Powers Resolution, traditional anti-war Democrats and fiscally conservative Republicans are worried about the cost of the conflict.
In a recent report on the mission, the administration said the cost of military and humanitarian operations through June 3 was about $800 million. It estimated the total cost through September 30 would be $1.1 billion.CNN's Dana Bash, Rachel Streitfeld and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.
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