U.S. House Votes to Halt Syrian Refugee Resettlement Program

Still, the vote does signal that support for the proposal has waned since the terror attacks, said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.

"The fact this vote had bipartisan support makes it much more difficult for the president to say that this is simply about the GOP using the politics of fear to build the opposition to him," Zelizer said. The terror attacks have dramatically changed the political dynamics surrounding these issues to the point that, for the time being, it will be difficult for the president to gain much more traction on this issue."