Congress Must Reclaim Its War Powers, End Unauthorized US Hostilities With Iran

The United States has now been engaged in hostilities with Iran for months, with American strikes and Iranian retaliation continuing to put U.S. service members, civilians, our allies, and the wider region at risk. This cannot be allowed to become an indefinite war conducted at the discretion of one president. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war for a reason. Decisions that can cost American lives, take civilian lives abroad, destabilize an entire region, and commit this country to months or years of conflict require democratic accountability. No president should be permitted to bypass Congress simply by repeatedly ordering military action while avoiding the word “war.” Congress has already considered measures requiring the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran unless those hostilities are specifically authorized. Yet the fighting continues. We are asking the Senate to act again—and this time, to act decisively. Congress should require an end to unauthorized U.S. hostilities with Iran and prohibit funds from being used to continue or expand those hostilities without specific congressional authorization. Senators should also insist on meaningful public oversight of the administration's objectives, the costs of this conflict, the risks to U.S. personnel and civilians, and what conditions would actually bring American military involvement to an end. This is not a demand that Congress ignore threats from Iran or abandon its responsibility to protect Americans. It is a demand that Congress fulfill its own constitutional responsibility. If the President believes continued or expanded military action against Iran is necessary, then the administration should make that case openly to the American people and ask their elected representatives for authorization. Months of military action must not quietly become years of war. Please defend Congress's constitutional authority, protect American service members from an open-ended conflict, and support immediate action to end unauthorized U.S. hostilities with Iran.