Congress never authorized a US war in Iran. Under the US Constitution,
Congress has sole authority to do that, so that’s seemingly an important
deal. With the US engaged in other unauthorized wars, however, it has
been little more than a side note, and the Trump Administration has
considered Congressional involvement in the process to be optional, at
best.
Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Tom Udall (D-NM) led an effort on
Wednesday to try to reassert Congressional authority, by trying to
preemptively de-fund any US war against Iran unless Congress authorized
it ahead of time.
This proposal was brought forward at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and immediately failed, 13-9. Murphy said this vote would remind the administration that they don’t have authorization for the war.
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan downplayed the matter anyhow,
insisting that the US is focusing on “deterrence, not war,” suggesting
only Iranian miscalculation really threatened a war.
Senate Committee Rejects Requiring Congress Sign Off on Iran War
Sens. Murphy, Udall pushed to block unauthorized attack
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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