Could this 50-year-old law block Trump's actions in Iran?
President Donald Trump's decision to order U.S. airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran June 22, sparked immediate questions from some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle whether he had acted within his authority.
Under Trump's direction, the U.S. effectively joins a 10-day-old war, initiated when Israel began bombing Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure. The president has said previously he did not want to get involved in conflict in the Middle East but that "that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon."
Some lawmakers, including staunch conservatives and prominent progressives, are calling the move a breach of the Constitution.
"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, D-New York, wrote in a post on X.
The Constitution puts the power to declare war in Congress' hands, and the War Powers Resolution of 1973 mandates that the president notifies Congress within 48 hours of military action. The law also limits the deployment of armed forces beyond 90 days, in the absence of a formal declaration of war.
Asked during Pentagon press conference June 22 when Congress was made aware of the strikes, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth asserted, "They were notified after the planes were safely out. But we complied with the notification requirements of the War Powers Act."
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, responded to Trump's social media boast about the attack in Iran with the statement, "This is not Constitutional."
Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California filed a measure on June 17 that is based on the War Powers Act and seeks to block "unauthorized hostilities" in Iran.
"Stopping Iran from having a nuclear bomb is a top priority, but dragging the U.S. into another Middle East war is not the solution," Khanna said in a statement. "Trump's strikes are unconstitutional and put Americans, especially our troops, at risk."
Some of Trump's strongest supporters have also cautioned against conflict abroad.
"Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote in a post shortly before the U.S. bombings.
Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY
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