As Trump weighs Iran strike, some lawmakers say Congress needs a role
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Caitlin Babcock Staff writer
| Washington
U.S. and Iranian negotiators will meet in Geneva on Thursday for what officials frame as a last-ditch effort at diplomacy amid President Donald Trump鈥檚 talk of military action against Iran.
The meeting comes as multiple members of Congress are demanding more information about President Trump鈥檚 plans and a greater say in decisions on the use of force.
While Mr. Trump has not laid out a specific set of objectives, his past statements indicate his priorities are pressuring Iran to agree to a deal to limit its uranium enrichment and ballistic missile program and to end support for regional proxies like Hamas. He also promised Iranian protesters facing violent repression in January that 鈥渉elp is on the way.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
President Donald Trump says he鈥檚 deciding whether to take military action against Iran. Some members of Congress say a president isn鈥檛 the only decision-maker on the use of force 鈥� and they want a vote on a war powers resolution.
鈥淢y preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy,鈥� Mr. Trump said in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. 鈥淏ut one thing is certain, I will never allow the world鈥檚 No. 1 sponsor of terror, which [Iran is] by far, to have a nuclear weapon.鈥�
On Feb. 19, Mr. Trump said he would decide whether to attack Iran within 10 to 15 days. Since then, more than 150 aircraft have been placed on standby, and two aircraft carriers have been sent to the region as part of a massive military buildup.
Key Democratic senators Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Mark Warner of Virginia did not appear satisfied with the administration鈥檚 position after a classified briefing Tuesday, just hours before Mr. Trump鈥檚 speech. In the meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had briefed the 鈥淕ang of Eight,鈥� a group of eight congressional leaders authorized to receive sensitive intelligence, including Senators Schumer and Warner.
Senator Warner told the Monitor on Wednesday that Mr. Trump鈥檚 comments on Iran during the State of the Union didn鈥檛 match his understanding of the situation. He called the president鈥檚 statement Tuesday night that the United States had 鈥渙bliterated鈥� Iran鈥檚 nuclear weapons program a mischaracterization.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a huge amount of forces amassed ... and if we鈥檙e going to take action, I think he owes it to the American people to lay out the case of what his goals are,鈥� Senator Warner said.
Many members of Congress want to go a step further: They say that Mr. Trump lacks the unilateral authority to authorize an attack on Iran. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said that he and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie are confident they can soon introduce a bipartisan to block U.S. hostilities against Iran unless Congress signs off on the action or there is an imminent attack on the U.S.
Representative Khanna said that Mr. Trump鈥檚 Tuesday night address, which touched on Iran only briefly, highlighted the need for congressional engagement and transparency about the president鈥檚 aims there.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 give any rationale,鈥� Representative Khanna said in an interview Wednesday, referring to Mr. Trump鈥檚 speech. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 give any clear guidelines. ... So if anything, it stiffened my resolve to make sure that we put Congress on record.鈥�
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, meanwhile, told reporters that he plans to bring up a Senate counterpart resolution, one that he and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky have co-sponsored, 鈥渧ery soon.鈥�
Not all Democrats support a vote on a war powers resolution like the one Representatives Khanna and Massie propose. On Feb. 20, two other members of Congress, Democrat Josh Gottheimer and Republican Mike Lawler, issued a joint statement opposing the Kaine-Rand resolution. 鈥淭his resolution would restrict the flexibility needed to respond to real and evolving threats and risks, signaling weakness at a dangerous moment,鈥� they wrote.
As it stands, the proposed resolution has a slim chance of success. Even if every other House Democrat supported it, it鈥檚 unclear where the representatives would find the Republican votes needed to pass it in the House. The proposal would then have to make it through the majority-Republican Senate.
Even then, it would not carry the force of law.
Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking member on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, who was not at the Gang of Eight meeting, said Wednesday that the Trump administration hadn鈥檛 provided evidence to support its claims that Iran is rebuilding nuclear weapons.
鈥淚t seems as though the only ones who know anything ... are [Steve] Witkoff and [Jared] Kushner,鈥� he said later in an interview, referring to Mr. Trump鈥檚 special envoys leading talks with Iran.
Representative Meeks said he supports the Khanna-Massie resolution.
Congressional war powers authority
As the president has invoked executive authority to carry out strikes against Iran and to remove an authoritarian leader in Venezuela, many lawmakers 鈥� mainly Democrats 鈥� worry that Congress鈥� constitutional authority to declare war is being undermined.
In 1973, amid the Vietnam War, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution to reassert its authority. That joint resolution, which functions as law, requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of military action and bars the deployment of armed forces for more than 60 days without congressional permission.
When the U.S. conducted strikes on Iranian nuclear sites last June, and then captured Venezuelan President Nicol谩s Maduro in January, members introduced more specific resolutions demanding the president halt military action in those places and await congressional sign-off. These resolutions gained scant Republican support. Neither has passed.
Prominent Republicans, including Mr. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, have called the original 1973 law, which forms the basis of many of these resolutions, an unconstitutional infringement on presidential powers.
On Tuesday, before Mr. Trump鈥檚 speech, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said the Constitution gives a president 鈥渁 very wide area to operate as commander in chief.鈥� Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont countered, saying that such power comes with an obligation to be clear about plans and objectives.
鈥淭his is a discretionary action,鈥� Senator Welch said in an interview Tuesday evening. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not an emergency here. This is a massive buildup over time with an underlying policy objective.鈥�
Before Mr. Trump鈥檚 speech, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said lawmakers need more information on how to move forward.
鈥淚f it is a long engagement or boots on the ground [in Iran], then consistent with the War Powers Act, we would need congressional approval,鈥� she said.
