03.02.26 - Trump started a war with Iran. Here’s what Congress can do

The United States is now at war with Iran, despite no evidence that Iran posed an imminent military threat to the U.S., no timeline or objectives presented to the American people, and no vote to declare war in Congress, as the Constitution requires. Four American servicemembers and an unknown number of civilians have been killed since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran early Saturday, including more than 150 children attending school.

A deep dive into events leading up to this weekend’s attack and its far-reaching implications are beyond the scope of this newsletter. Below, I will focus on Congress’ options to respond to this unauthorized military action. For even more details on these options, check out We Build Progress’ recent explainer.

To put the bottom line up top: war powers resolution votes in the coming days will give Congress the chance to block further military action in Iran. Republicans’ control of Congress and overwhelming support for the President’s actions suggest those votes may fail, but that does not mean they are meaningless. These votes will force Members of Congress to declare publicly where they stand on a war most Americans do not support. Moreover, those votes are not the last chance Congress will have to stop this war. 

For more on this, keep reading.

The War Powers Resolution

Under Article I of the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war. However, as we saw this weekend, presidents have repeatedly sidestepped this requirement and conducted military operations without congressional approval. To address this overreach, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution (WPR) in 1973, under which Congress may pass a resolution directing the president to immediately remove U.S. forces from hostilities that Congress hasn’t authorized. 

War powers resolutions have fast-track privileges—meaning, lawmakers can force a vote even without buy-in from their chamber’s leadership. Furthermore, unlike most legislation, the resolution needs just 51 votes to pass the Senate. However, overriding a presidential veto—the likely outcome, assuming the President wishes to avoid constraints on his power—requires a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers. President Trump vetoed an Iran war powers resolution in 2020, which Congress approved following the U.S. assassinaton of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. 

House and Senate lawmakers plan to force votes on Iran war powers resolutions (H.Con.Res.38 and S.J.Res.104) this week. Even if these resolutions fail, lawmakers’ votes will put their positions on-the-record and could indicate which Members might employ one of the options below in the coming weeks or months.

Legislation to Block Funding for War

Congress can introduce standalone bills to cut off funding for war. For example, in 2020, the Democratically-controlled House passed Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-CA) No War Against Iran Act. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has a similar bill now. 

However, such bills do not have the same privileges afforded to war powers resolutions. It is up to the GOP-controlled House and Senate leadership to call a vote.As such, bills like this are unlikely to move in the current Congress.

Amendments to Block Funding for the Use of Military Force

Members of Congress may amend must-pass legislation to block funding for the use of military force, or to affirm that existing laws do not provide authority for the use of force. Historically, Members have created these guardrails via annual appropriations bills or the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets policies for the Defense Department. 

If, however, congressional leaders oppose such guardrails, they may thwart those efforts as they’ve done in the past. 

For example, during Trump’s first term, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) offered an amendment to H.R. 2500, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 NDAA to bar the use of funds for war with Iran without congressional authorization. While the Democratically-controlled House approved the amendment, it was removed from the final version of the NDAA during negotiations with the GOP-controlled Senate. The final NDAA did not include this provision. 

Present-day Republican leaders have similarly blocked efforts to prevent war with Iran. Last year, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), respectively, proposed amendments to H.R. 4016, the FY 2026 Defense appropriations bill to prevent funds from being used for military force against Iran in contravention of the War Powers Resolution. House Republican leadership did not permit votes on these amendments.

Congress has commenced the FY 2027 funding process, giving lawmakers new opportunities to propose provisions that cut off funding for war with Iran. Even if Republican leaders obstruct those efforts, the obstruction itself will indicate party leaders’ stances on the war.

Approving or Rejecting Supplemental Appropriations Requests

The President may ask Congress for extra funding to support military operations, as presidents did throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These requests may be tied to the regular appropriations process or Congress could consider supplemental funding requests separately, as it did in March 2020 to provide extra funding for the COVID-19 response. 

While President Trump has yet to ask Congress for more money for war with Iran, such a request would offer another opportunity for Members who oppose these military operations. Voting against more money for war would both indicate their positions on-the-record and, in sufficient numbers, could even deny the President funds to prolong the war.

If you’d like a live update for your group or coalition, reach out to catherine@webuildprogress.org. Thanks!