President Trump’s unilateral decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities is reigniting a constitutional clash over whether the commander-in-chief overstepped his constitutional authority by green-lighting the attacks without congressional approval.
Most of the criticism is coming from Democrats, including some who insist that Mr. Trump’s decision is grounds for impeachment.
“Congress needs to authorize a war against Iran,” Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat, said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “This Trump war against Iran, we have not.”
“The United States should not be in an offensive war against Iran without a vote of Congress,” Mr. Kaine said. “The Constitution is completely clear on it.”
Vice President J.D. Vance pushed back, saying “the president has clear authority to act to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”
“The idea that this was outside of presidential authority, I think any real serious legal person would tell you that’s not true,” Mr. Vance said.
The Constitution gives the power to declare war to Congress, but the power to manage the armed forces resides with the president.
The War Powers Resolution, enacted in 1973, attempts to bridge that gap by allowing the president to deploy troops for up to 60 days but requiring him to seek congressional approval if he wishes to extend the commitment beyond that period.
Presidents of both parties have ordered military actions without congressional approval. President Reagan bypassed Congress in 1983 when he sent troops into Grenada to protect Americans on the island against pro-communist forces.
President George H.W. Bush ordered an invasion of Panama to oust the government of Manual Noriega. President Clinton ordered air and missile strikes against Yugoslavia to protect Kosovo, and President Obama committed U.S. troops to an international military force in Libya.
The Obama administration said it believed it was following the law by alerting Congress of its intentions regarding Libya, which involved setting up a no-fly zone to protect Libyan rebels fighting against the government of Col. Moammar Gadhafi.
The Trump administration did not tell top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees — Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut and Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia, respectively — about the strikes beforehand, although the White House gave a heads-up to GOP intelligence committee chairs, Rep. Rick Crawford and Sen. Tom Cotton, both of Arkansas.
A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mr. Kaine, introduced a war powers resolution last week that would require Congress to debate and vote before using any U.S. military force against Iran.
Mr. Kaine said he expects the Senate to take up the proposal this week.
Reps. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, California Democrat, introduced a similar measure in the House that would prohibit U.S. forces from engaging in hostilities against Iran without congressional approval.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, backed Mr. Trump, saying the president “made the right call” and “evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act. “
“The President fully respects the Article I power of Congress, and tonight’s necessary, limited, and targeted strike follows the history and tradition of similar military actions under presidents of both parties,” Mr. Johnson posted on X.
Mr. Massie said Mr. Johnson was likely referring to the War Powers Act of 1973, but said “that has been misinterpreted.”
“There were no imminent threat to the United States, which is what would authorize that,” Mr. Massie said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “I think that’s peculiar to hear that from the Speaker of the House.”
“Congress was on vacation last week when all this was happening,” he said. “We haven’t been briefed. They should’ve called us all back and, frankly, we should’ve debated this War Powers Resolution.”
Critics have noted that the Israeli foreign minister had said his country’s bombing had set the Iranian nuclear program back at least two or three years.
However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran has “everything they need for a nuclear weapon.”
“They have the delivery mechanisms, they have the enrichment capability, they have the highly enriched uranium that is stored,” Mr. Rubio said on “Face the Nation.”
Others have taken their outrage against Mr. Trump’s unilateral action a step further.
“The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted on X. “He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations.”
“It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
Rep. Sean Casten, Illinois Democrat, described the Trump-approved strike as “an unambiguous impeachable offense.”
“I am open to the idea that the U.S. should attack Iran,” Mr. Casten said, acknowledging that Tehran is a nuclear threat. “But I am not open to the idea that Congress cedes all authority to the executive branch. No matter how many lickspittle sycophants in the GOP argue to the contrary.”
