President Trump’s threat to unleash U.S. military power on Iran has pushed House and Senate lawmakers into a renewed debate over congressional authorization of military force.
The Senate GOP, in an unusual move, is negotiating with Democrats to allow a vote on a measure that would block Trump from using federal dollars to launch an attack on Iran.
Democrats in both chambers want to rein in Trump and are eager to prevent any new U.S. involvement in overseas conflicts.
“The caucus is totally united in ensuring that if the president has any desire to move forward with any potential military conflict in the Middle East, he needs to come to Congress and we’ll have a debate on the authorization of use of military force,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said following a closed-door meeting with rank-and-file Democrats Tuesday morning.
Trump on Tuesday threatened Iran with “obliteration” if they attacked “anything American.”
Trump was responding to Iran’s negative reaction to new U.S. sanctions the president imposed after Iran shot down a U.S. drone in international airspace.
Tehran warned the United States the new sanctions would close “the doors of diplomacy.”
The increased tension between the United States and Iran, coupled with Trump’s threats to take military action, have prompted Democrats to try to rein in the President’s authority over the use of military force.
Last week, the Democrat-led House passed a measure revoking the 2001 Authorization of Use of Military Force, which three presidents have used to justify military action abroad.
Across the Capitol, Senate Democrats have successfully pushed for an amendment to a Defense spending authorization measure on the floor this week that would require Trump to seek congressional authorization before spending federal money to use military force against Iran.
The House and Senate measures are the furthest either chamber has taken to reassert congressional control over military action in 18 years.
President Barack Obama sent Congress a new authorization in 2015, but neither chamber acted on it.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he’ll work with Democrats to allow the vote on the Iran amendment, but he doesn’t support it or believe it is needed.
The provision is sponsored by Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and backed by Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Mike Lee, R-Utah.
“Nearly every president has utilized limited use of force against adversaries without pre-authorization from the Congress,” McConnell said Tuesday.
McConnell accused Democrats of “fear-mongering” and said Trump is not proposing the kind of major military action that would require congressional approval.
Most Republicans side with Trump and say he needs no additional authority from Capitol Hill. They believe he holds the authority to act against Iran if U.S. interests are threatened or attacked.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have both declared Trump lacks the authority to act against Iran without first receiving a new authorization from Congress.
Democrats are trying to paint Trump as an incompetent and unstable leader on foreign policy who needs intervention from Congress.
Trump last week called off a strike against Iran at the last minute after learning 150 Iranians would be killed in the attack.
Schumer said he told Trump last weekend that conflicts such as the current U.S.-Iran skirmish “have a way of escalating.”
Schumer told reporters on Tuesday, following Trump’s Iran tweet, that Democrats “are worried that Trump will bumble into a war that nobody wants.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., called Trump’s Iran actions “an impulsive to-and-fro.”
Even Trump’s biggest GOP skeptics, meanwhile, are largely backing Trump’s actions.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, praised Trump’s decision to call off the Iran strike.
But he said Iranian aggression requires a response from the United States.
“I think the president was wise not to pursue that course,” Romney said of the canceled airstrike.
“But I still believe a military response is called for. The president has far more options that I’m aware of.
“The military would provide many possible responses for what Iran did. In the case of an attack on a drone of ours in international air space, there needs to be a response from our country.“
