WASHINGTON – After the United States bombed what it said were key nuclear sites in Iran, Minnesota Democrats in Congress are seeking to rein in President Donald Trump’s war-making powers. That effort, however, will be difficult.
The president said the airstrikes destroyed Iran’s nuclear ambitions and were “one and done.”
Yet, like many Democrats, Sen. Amy Klobuchar warned of an escalation of conflict after Saturday’s airstrikes, which provoked Iran’s bombing of U.S. military bases in the Middle East on Monday
Klobuchar said said the president “must not, and under our Constitution cannot, take these actions without congressional authorization and a full debate in Congress over the goals, risks, and implications.”
Rep. Angie Craig, D-2nd District, also said Congress should limit the president’s war-making authority.
“The president’s unilateral decision to launch direct strikes and threaten a wider, open-ended war in the Middle East without Congressional debate or authorization puts American and allied troops and civilians at risk,” Craig said in a post on X.
And, in a statement, Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4th District, said, “I am shocked that President Trump made the decision to bomb three nuclear sites in Iran without authorization from Congress.”
“I believe the President’s action to be unconstitutional because Iran did not pose an immediate or direct threat to the United States,” McCollum said.
After Trump said the United States might act against Iran, Democratic lawmakers introduced Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) resolutions in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate that would have would require Trump to obtain congressional approval before U.S. service members could participate in any offensive operation against Iran.
However, presidents of both parties have, many times, deployed U.S. forces and ordered the use of military force, without congressional authorization.
The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the authority to “declare War.” But it also allows the president to deploy military force not only to defend the United States against actual or anticipated attacks, but also to advance other important national interests.
So, the Constitution greenlights presidential military action for a number of reasons.
In Trump’s first term, he ordered a strike at Baghdad International Airport that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. That 2020 military action provoked Democrats in Congress to approve war powers resolutions in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.
But Trump simply vetoed the legislation, and Congress was unable to override that veto.
Trump argued then, as he argues today, that the president has authority to strike Iran under an AUMF, that Congress approved in 2002 after the 9/11 attacks.
Still, Saturday’s airstrikes have rekindled a long-running debate in Congress over the president’s military powers.
‘Peace through strength’
Minnesota’s GOP lawmakers joined the majority of Republicans who backed Trump’s actions.
“A nuclear Iran posed a threat to the Middle East and to the world,” said Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6th District, in a posting on X. “@POTUS has been consistent that this dangerous regime should NEVER possess a nuclear weapon. He was right then and he is right today.”
Rep. Pete Stauber, R-8th District, also lauded Trump’s actions, echoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the president that it was key to an effort to attain “peace through strength.”
“Iran has been wanting to eliminate the United States and Israel for decades,” Stauber posted on X. “President Trump’s decision to surgically remove this threat was decisive leadership with the power of our extraordinary military force! This is peace through strength.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-5th District, said “military strikes will not bring peace.”
“They will only provoke more violence, destabilize the region, and endanger U.S. troops and civilians,” Omar said on X. “We’ve seen what happens when diplomacy is sidelined in favor of bombs. It only brings more death and destruction.’
Omar also said Congress “must vote immediately” on the AUMF resolutions introduced by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky in the House and Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.
Trump has dismissed the possibility that Congress will curb his power. But he also threatened to have Massie ousted from congressional seat and – since Saturday – has called the lawmaker a “simple-minded grandstander,” a “pathetic LOSER” and a “BUM.”
Trump’s team has also launched Kentucky MAGA, a political action committee devoted to defeating Massie in next May’s Republican primary.
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