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Lawmakers move to limit Trump's war powers as Israel-Iran war escalates

By
Caitlin Yilek
Politics Reporter
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
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Caitlin Yilek,
Kaia Hubbard
Politics Reporter
Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
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Kaia Hubbard

/ CBS News

Washington — Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are looking to limit President Trump's ability to order U.S. strikes on Iran amid its ongoing war with Israel, emphasizing that only Congress has the power to declare war under the Constitution.

"This is not our war," Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said in a on X Tuesday announcing that he had introduced a measure under the 1973 War Powers Resolution to block U.S. strikes. "Even if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution."

The Constitution grants Congress the sole power to declare war, and the extent of the president's authority to wade into conflict abroad without the approval of the legislative branch has been challenged in recent years. In 2020, Mr. Trump faced criticism for his decision to strike Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani without notifying congressional leaders. 

Massie's resolution aims to force the president to seek congressional approval before entering a war with Iran and would terminate the use of U.S. armed forces against Iran without Congress' expressed approval. It's cosponsored by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who urged "every member to go on record" in a on X on Monday.

"Are you with the neocons who led us into Iraq or do you stand with the American people?" Khanna said.

The privileged resolution would force a vote on the matter within a number of days. The House is currently on recess, but leaders will be forced to engage with the push upon their return. The vote would put Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, in a difficult position, given his strong support of Israel and the president.

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, is leading an effort in the Senate and introduced on Monday that forces a vote on requiring Mr. Trump to get congressional approval or a formal declaration of war to attack Iran, unless the U.S. is defending itself against an imminent attack. 

"This resolution will ensure that if we decide to place our nation's men and women in uniform into harm's way, we will have a debate and vote on it in Congress," Kaine said in a statement. 

Kaine said Tuesday he didn't have any cosponsors to announce yet, but "I definitely have interest." 

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said he isn't backing Kaine's resolution, telling reporters that "there's very little danger" of Mr. Trump leading the U.S. into war. But Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, urged Mr. Trump to "go all in" if diplomacy fails. 

"If that means providing bombs, provide bombs," Graham said Sunday in an interview with "Face the Nation with Margaret 91³Ô¹ÏÍø." "If it means flying with Israel, fly with Israel." 

Mr. Trump cut short his trip to Canada for the G7 summit on Monday, citing the Israel-Iran conflict. After returning to Washington, the president wrote that "we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran" and warned "we know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding." 

"He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now," the president said.

At least one Democrat said he plans to vote against Kaine's resolution. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who supports preemptive strikes against Iran, said he doesn't want to take any action that would curtail Mr. Trump's ability to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities. 

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said his position is "no president can bomb another country without the permission of Congress." 

"It's always been my belief that you don't go to war without the approval of Congress and bombing other countries is obviously war. If you want to do that, you need to come to Congress and ask for permission," Paul told reporters Tuesday. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, is pushing to prohibit the use of federal funds or any use of military force against Iran without consent from Congress, except in the case of self-defense. It had a handful of cosponsors on Monday. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said Tuesday that Mr. Trump is acting within his authorities for the moment and that considering war powers resolutions is "getting the cart ahead of the horse." 

"If this thing were to extend for some period of time, there could be a more fulsome discussion about what the role of Congress should be and whether or not we need to take action," Thune said. 

Alan He, Cristina Corujo and Grace Kazarian contributed to this report.

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