President Donald Trump on Feb. 28 directed the U.S. military to use force against targets in Iran to further degrade its nuclear and missile capabilities, to defeat its forces and to prevent them from once again projecting power against U.S. interests in the region, exporting their revolution and threatening national security.
Iran at this very moment is attacking our forces and allies across the region, and four servicemen have already lost their lives in the war. Now, Congressional Democrats want to pass a War Powers Act resolution against the U.S. war in Iran.
It states in part, “Congress hereby directs the President to remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran…”
If the Democrats’ resolution were to somehow become law — it won’t because even if it somehow passed, President Trump would veto it and it’s unconstitutional in any event — it would become illegal for the President to protect U.S. forces stationed and our allies in the region currently under attack.
And through weakness, invite more attacks now and in the future.
They are voting to cede the entire region to Iranian aggression — a blank check for Tehran, a Holocaust-denying Nazi regime, to attack whomever they please — and the U.S. would not be able to respond. It contradicts our treaty commitments. It contradicts the Constitution. It contradicts common sense.
Have Congressional Democrat taken leave of their senses? It’s basically an authorization for Iran to use force against us — and then we cannot do anything about it. Does it sound unconstitutional, or what?
The 1973 War Powers Act states that if the U.S. faces an imminent danger, then the President can act to protect the U.S. without Congressional approval. Okay, so far, so good.
The President, under provisions of the law, briefed Congress on the ongoing imminent threat from Iran — which has declared and been at war with the U.S. for 47 years, killing more than a thousand Americans over the years including in Iraq and Lebanon — prior to launching the attack on Iran.
The notice on the threat from Iran, of course, is long overdue. The danger to the U.S. has been ever-present since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, with the first Ayatollah, Ruhollah Khomeini, declaring war on the U.S. in 1980, writing, “[W]e are fighting against the Western world — devourers led by America, Israel and Zionism… We should try hard to export our revolution to the world, and should set aside the thought that we do not export our revolution, because Islam does not regard various Islamic countries differently and is the supporter of all the oppressed people of the world. On the other hand, all the superpowers and all the powers have risen to destroy us. If we remain in an enclosed environment we shall definitely face defeat. We should clearly settle our accounts with the powers and superpowers and should demonstrate to them that, despite all the grave difficulties that we have, we shall confront the world with our ideology.”
It was another one of those situations where Iran was at war with us — taking Americans hostage, murdering Marines and our soldiers — but we were not fully at war with them even as Jimmy Carter invoked the War Powers Act in 1980 to attempt to rescue the hostages, and Ronald Reagan in 1987 and 1988 when Iran was bombing oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.
Once again, the U.S. engaged in hostilities with Iran in June 2025 when President Trump ordered the bombing of the government’s nuclear weapons facilities, which the President also provided notice to Congress of under the War Powers Act.
Iran is also the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, which all presidents have clear authority to act against broadly under the Constitution. The law cannot constitutionally set a time limit for coming to one’s senses to see the danger posed by this enemy. Even if it could, Congress would pass its resolution today, and Iran just would attack us tomorrow, resetting the absurdly contrived clock.
After Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities were bombed, Congressional Democrats attempted to pass another War Powers Act resolution against the President’s destruction of Iran’s nuclear program. Why are they siding with Iran?
Instead, here’s a better idea: Congress should play a role and give our military everything it needs to win and ensure victory against Iran. And pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security now that we’re at war so it can fully fulfill its counterterrorism mission. We just had a terrorist attack in Austin, Texas on March 1 from an Islamist and Congressional Democrats are holding back Homeland Security funding.
Overall, our troops in harm’s way deserve to know that their country is backing them up and that means both parties and the American people’s duly elected representatives in Congress. Give all due authorization, send more arms and do whatever it takes to win.
There should be no ambiguity.
Since 1789, there have been 11 declarations of war by Congress involving five separate wars: the War of 1812 versus Great Britain, the 1846 war against Mexico, the 1898 war against Spain, World War I versus Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1917 and World War II against Germany, Japan and Italy in 1941.
But there have also been about 188 other military actions by the U.S. that were not declared wars since 1789, many long before the War Powers Act of 1973. Of those, more than 125 lacked explicit authorizations by Congress, but were otherwise exercised under the President’s inherent Article II powers as the executive and commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces but also under laws Congress had passed, for example in 1795, authorizing the President to repel an invasion or other attack by a foreign country or to suppress a domestic insurrection: “That whenever the United States shall be invaded, or an imminent danger of invasion from any foreign nation or Indian tribe, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to call forth such number of the militia of the state, or states, most convenient to the place of danger, or scene of action, as he may judge necessary to repel such invasion…”
And now, the War Powers Act similarly establishes “The constitutional powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to (1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.”
Insofar as this law sought to leave the country defenseless unless we were attacked — an unconstitutional leap — with Iran, it does not apply: They’ve been attacking us since the Shah was overthrown, in Lebanon and in Iraq, where Congress did authorize force.
In any event, every president has asserted it can act under his own Article II authority and the laws Congress has enacted against an enemy that has already declared war and has been waging war against us for decades, but that has limits, and victory should be the goal.
Now is the time for leadership, not partisanship.
When the President says something, he means it. He said no nuclear weapons for Iran, and they refused. Iran should’ve taken the deal.
No one can doubt that when America says it will use force, it is not only a credible threat, but will be devastating. The President has spoken often of no more endless wars. So, instead he is using overwhelming force to end this quickly. He sounds optimistic that this can be a quick victory.
But in the days and weeks ahead, as it becomes clear how fragile or not the Iranian government really is and how willing and able the Iranian people really are to reclaim their own destiny or not, ultimately the President and Congress will have to make the determination whether to finish the job or not.
God bless our troops. Congress, please give them everything they need to ensure victory — and nothing less.
Congressional Democrats’ resolution represents the same weakness that has allowed Iran to export its revolution for decades, being the number one sponsor of terrorism in the world, the U.S. being subjected to attack after attack, and to get to the brink of possessing nuclear weapons, which the President campaigned against beginning in 2015, promising to end the disastrous nuclear deal, which he has, and in June, launched Operation Midnight Hammer to destroy the nuclear weapons program once and for all.
Now, with or without Congress, President Trump must finish the job. We can all thank him later.
Robert Romano is the Executive Director of Americans for Limited Government.
