URGENT: Defending Article I Authority—The May 1 Iran War Powers Deadline

As the May 1 deadline approaches regarding U.S. military involvement in Iran, I am writing to demand that you uphold your constitutional oath of office. The War Powers Resolution provides a clear, 60-day window for military operations without Congressional authorization—a window that expires at the end of this week. If the Executive Branch continues these military operations past this deadline without an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), they will be in direct violation of statutory law and the Constitution. This is a fundamental test of Article I authority. Article I, Section 8, grants the power to declare war to Congress, not the Executive. Oversight of economic policy or sanctions is secondary to the responsibility of authorizing the life-and-death deployment of our military forces. I expect you to enforce this legal deadline. If the Administration does not seek formal Congressional authorization, I expect you to support measures to defund or cease these unauthorized operations. True accountability requires that Congress apply the same vigilance to military engagement that it does to domestic policy. I will be monitoring your actions on this issue as a primary litmus test for your commitment to the separation of powers. You cannot claim to be a champion of the constitution while allowing the executive branch to bypass Article I, Section 8, on matters of war.