As American and Israeli bombs continue to fall on Iran for the fourth consecutive day, a growing number of lawmakers in Washington are pushing back, and this week they will force a vote to try and stop it.
Lawmakers are expected to vote this week on resolutions requiring President Trump to seek congressional approval before using further military force against Iran, as top Democrats and some Republicans seek to reassert Congress’s constitutional power to declare war and prevent a prolonged conflict.
The constitutional argument at the centre of this fight is straightforward. Article 1 of the United States Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. Trump launched the strikes on Iran on Saturday without congressional authorisation, notifying only the Gang of Eight which is a small bipartisan group of top House and Senate leaders and intelligence committee chairs shortly before the bombs fell.
For many lawmakers that was simply not enough.
“This is a disaster, it is illegal, and the president is obligated under the Constitution to come to Congress and ask for an authorization of military force,” one Democratic senator said, calling for Congress to return to Washington immediately rather than wait until its scheduled return.
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, a co-sponsor of the Senate resolution, put it plainly. “The Constitution says we’re not supposed to be at war without a vote of Congress. This is important. The lives of our troops are at risk. We ought to come back to Washington right away and vote on this,” he said.
While most congressional Republicans praised the strikes, describing them as a necessary last resort after months of failed diplomacy, libertarian-leaning senators Rand Paul and Thomas Massie broke ranks, with Paul declaring that his oath of office is to the Constitution and that he must oppose another presidential war. Representative Warren Davidson of Ohio also said no to the strikes via his socials stating simply that war requires congressional authorisation.
The votes are expected midweek when Congress returns to session. Whatever the outcome, the result will force every member of the House and Senate to go on record either backing a president who launched a war without their approval, or standing against a military operation that is already four days old and showing no signs of stopping.
