House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) is coming out against a congressional war powers resolution vote following President Donald Trump’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.
Addressing bipartisan calls for a vote, Johnson said past presidents have acted under similar Article II authority as commander-in-chief to launch limited military operations in the Middle East.
“I don’t think this is an appropriate time for a war powers resolution, and I don’t think it’s necessary. For 80 years, presidents of both parties have acted with the same Commander in Chief Authority under Article 2,” Johnson said.
“You had President Biden used three times in Middle East operations. President Obama went on an eight-month campaign bombing Libya to take down the regime there. I never heard a Democrat talk about any of that,” he added, referring to the past two Democratic presidents.
When the U.S. struck Iran on Saturday, Johnson supported Trump’s decision to authorize the operation and said Trump’s actions were consistent with those of past administrations.
“The President made the right call, and did what he needed to do. Leaders in Congress were aware of the urgency of this situation and the Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act,” Johnson posted on X.
“The President fully respects the Article I power of Congress, and tonight’s necessary, limited, and targeted strike follows the history and tradition of similar military actions under presidents of both parties.”
Article I of the Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war, although in recent decades, foreign policy has largely been dictated by the executive branch. The 2001 authorization for use of military force and other congressional actions have been used to justify unilateral presidential undertakings in the Middle East throughout this century.
Some Constitutional conservatives and libertarians, as well as progressives opposed to military action in the Middle East, have argued for Congress reclaiming its historical role in authorizing American military actions.
On the House side, Representative Thomas Massie (R., Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D., Calif.) introduced a war powers resolution last week, potentially setting up a vote next week. But, Johnson could remove the privileged nature of the resolution and prevent it from getting a vote, according to Politico. Under the War Powers Act, war powers resolutions are required to get a floor vote within 15 days in the House and ten days in the Senate.
Senator Tim Kaine (D., Va.) introduced a similar war powers resolution in the chamber last week, setting it up for a vote in the coming days. Kaine and Massie’s resolutions were put forward before the U.S. took action against the Iranian regime, but after Israeli strikes on Iran led many to anticipate U.S. action against Iran.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) called for enforcing the War Powers Act in response to U.S. strikes on Iran this past weekend. But at least one Democrat, Senator John Fetterman (D., Pa.), is likely to oppose Kaine’s war powers resolution, given his steadfast support for Trump’s actions against Iran. Libertarian Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) and centrist Senator Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) could join with many Democratic colleagues in backing Kaine’s resolution, given their past statements.
Trump authorized the strikes on Iran Saturday targeted at the Islamic regime’s nuclear enrichment facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The president said Saturday the strikes, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities during an address shortly after the fact. On Sunday, the Pentagon said the strikes caused “severe damage and destruction” but it was too early to fully assess Iran’s remaining nuclear capabilities.
Iran responded to the strikes Monday with a missile attack on U.S. forces stationed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. No casualties have been reported and all of the missiles appear to have been intercepted.