WASHINGTON, June 23 (Alliance News): In the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally order airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, bipartisan voices in the US Congress are raising alarms about unchecked presidential war powers, calling for a renewed assertion of Congressional authority over military action.
While Republican leadership in both chambers — including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune — have thrown their support behind the strikes, several lawmakers have argued that the president acted without legitimate Congressional authorization.
Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) announced that he would force a vote this week on a resolution mandating Trump to halt hostilities against Iran unless a formal declaration of war is approved by Congress.
In the House, Representatives Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) and Ro Khanna (D-California) plan to press for a similar measure.
“This is the U.S. jumping into a war of choice at Donald Trump’s urging, without any compelling national security interest,” Kaine said on CBS’ Face the Nation. “There was no imminent threat to the United States. We haven’t even been briefed.”
Massie, a known libertarian-leaning Republican, echoed the concern, highlighting that Trump’s actions betrayed the promises of the MAGA movement to end “forever wars.” “I represent the coalition that helped elect President Trump. We were promised diplomacy and a focus on domestic priorities, not new wars,” he stated.
The recent strikes targeted Iran’s key nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — under the justification of thwarting Iran’s nuclear ambitions. However, intelligence assessments remain divided, and US officials admit that Iran has not definitively decided to build a bomb.
Amid the political rift, Trump lashed out at Massie on his social media platform, Truth Social, pledging to support a primary challenger against the Kentucky congressman in the 2026 elections. “MAGA is not about lazy, grandstanding, nonproductive politicians, of which Thomas Massie is definitely one,” Trump posted.
Even among his allies, Trump’s actions prompted rare dissent. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) emphasized that while she continues to support Trump, she opposes unnecessary military escalations. “I can support President Trump and still disagree with bombing Iran,” she wrote on X.
Conversely, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), a staunch Trump ally, defended the president’s constitutional authority. “He had all the authority he needs,” Graham said, dismissing criticism that Trump overstepped. “If you don’t like what he did, cut off the funding.”
The debate has revived broader questions about the erosion of Congressional war powers. While the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to declare war, successive administrations have increasingly acted without explicit authorization, citing vague interpretations of executive authority.
Democrats have cautioned against prematurely celebrating military actions with long-term consequences. “We’ve seen this before — claims of success the day after a strike, only to deal with the fallout for decades,” said Khanna.
Speaker Johnson, however, maintained that the president acted within his mandate, arguing that the urgency of the threat justified bypassing Congress. “The Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act,” he said.
As Congress prepares to convene for a full briefing on the strikes this week, the question remains whether lawmakers can reach bipartisan consensus to reclaim their constitutional authority in decisions of war and peace.
