The Trump administration joined with Israel in bombarding Iran over the weekend, and about half of Congress is up in arms that he didn’t seek their permission first. This isn’t the first time President Donald Trump projected American military power in a foreign land – on a Saturday and without clearing it with Congress first. Each time, Democrats and at least one or two Republicans start talking about war powers resolutions. The weekend strike on Iran was no different.
Unfortunately for the outraged lawmakers, however, their war powers talk is all bark and no bite. And there are three reasons that isn’t likely to change any time soon.
The Speed of Congress vs the President’s Pace
Democrats and at least one Republican – Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky – have been kicking around the idea of passing a war powers resolution to prevent President Trump from striking Iran since he first delivered the ten-day ultimatum more than a week ago. But they didn’t move fast enough. Operation Epic Fury – or Roaring Lion, as the Israelis called it on their end – occurred just after 9 a.m. local time in Iran, around 1 a.m. in the Swamp, on a Saturday. To say the action caught certain members of Congress off guard is probably an understatement.
Now, Massie and congressional Democrat leaders say they’ll force a war powers vote soon – perhaps as early as today! The House reconvenes at 9 a.m. and the Senate at 3 p.m. But the problem with their plan, even if they could get a vote today, is that the strike began two days ago and continued through the weekend.
As is usually the case, by the time Congress actually forces a vote, the damage is done. Take the weekend grab of Venezuela dictator Nicolás Maduro back in January – also a Saturday, by the way. Congress quickly convened that week to pass a war powers resolution to prevent Trump from taking further action in Venezuela. That resolution failed, but even if it hadn’t, he already had Maduro.
In this particular case, the president has said this operation is likely to last for weeks, so there’s certainly time for Congress to stop him from doing more. But so much has already been done. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, and no legislative body on the planet can bring him back.
When President Trump takes military action, he likes it to be quick, quiet (at least until it’s time to get loud), and in the wee hours of a weekend morning. Meanwhile, Congress moves at the speed of … well, Congress. And they simply can’t keep up.
The GOP Backs Trump’s Play
For the second issue with the whole war powers threat, let’s return for a moment to that Venezuela vote back in January. On January 15, the Senate voted 50-50 on the measure, and Vice President JD Vance broke the tie in Trump’s favor. The House had a similar situation happen on January 22. The vote stalled out at 215-215.
Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Maine’s Susan Collins all crossed the aisle, but it just wasn’t quite enough. In the House, Don Bacon of Nebraska and Kentucky’s Thomas Massie backed the Democrats. The vast majority of Republicans in both chambers, however, chose Trump.
The coming vote will likely see a similar outcome. That said, it’s as close as close can get – and so it is possible that a slim majority could materialize in both chambers. It’s possible, just not probable.
Passing a Resolution Isn’t Enough
But even if a majority in each chamber votes to stop Trump from taking further action, the war powers resolution requires a presidential signature. That means it’s subject to the veto.
So, let’s game this out. Congress passes a resolution through both chambers – and they do it quickly, sending it to the president by Thursday or Friday. That alone means he has almost a full week of war on Iran.
Now, let’s assume he vetoes that resolution because he doesn’t want to stop. Then each chamber of Congress must take it up yet again – only this time, they need two-thirds of the members voting. If they can barely muster a 50/50 vote, how then would they pull the required supermajority? And even if they did, add another week of bombardment while that happens. Going back to the first point, it’s entirely possible the operation will be done after a couple of weeks anyway.
The best any supporter of the war powers resolution can hope for is that President Trump chooses to acquiesce to their will. For Democrats specifically, there’s always the hope that the voting public will remember it angrily come election day and take it out on the GOP. For those in favor of bombing Iran, of course, the left is praying for forgetfulness.
