Congress dodges preemptive confrontation with Trump over Iran
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Israeli air defenses intercept Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv. Photo: Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
Senate leaders are avoiding direct answers on whether President Trump needs approval from Congress before taking any military action against Iran.
Why it matters: Congress is reluctant to second-guess the commander-in-chief before he actually authorizes strikes. But Democrats have a visceral distrust of Trump, and a growing GOP faction is deeply suspicious of foreign military interventions.
- "Those questions have been debated, litigated for a long time about... how much authority the President has as commander in chief," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said when asked if Trump needed congressional approval to strike Iran.
- "I believe Congress and the Senate, Senate Democrats, if necessary, will not hesitate to exercise our authority," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said at a press conference Tuesday.
- Lawmakers have privately stressed to Schumer the need to maintain the military's flexibility in this situation, sources told Axios.
Driving the news: The world is awaiting a decision from Trump on whether he'll deploy bunker-busting bombs on Iran's underground nuclear facilities.
- "For too long we've surrendered [war powers] to presidents who have since eroded the constitutional clear mandate," Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) told Axios.
Zoom in: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is on the hunt for GOP senators to back his war powers resolution – and he is convinced he's making progress.
- Kaine will need at least four Republicans to cross the aisle and join him. "Some have told me that they're likely to vote for it," Kaine told Axios.
- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is viewed as most likely to join Democratic efforts, but declined to say how he plans to vote yet. He argues the Constitution requires congressional approval of military strikes.
- Kaine isn't able to force a vote on his resolution until 10 days after it was filed, meaning a vote won't happen until at least next week.
Zoom out: War powers resolution are more symbolic than substantive.
- Even if one cleared the Senate, it would still need to pass the GOP-controlled House. And Trump would almost certainly veto it, requiring an override vote in both chambers.
- Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch (R-Idaho) both declined to answer questions on the issue, calling it "sensitive" and a "very complicated question."
But some Republicans are giving Trump the green light.
- "A single bombing run, historically, has not been understood to require congressional authorization," Sen. Ten Cruz said.
- Asked if the president needs congressional approval to launch strikes on Iran, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Axios, simply: "No."
