How Congress became an afterthought in the war with Iran

WASHINGTON— Secretary of State Marco Rubio had some explaining to do when he arrived on Capitol Hill for a classified briefing with lawmakers in early March.

Members of Congress wanted to know why the United States and Israel attacked Iran two days earlier on February 28 and killed Iran’s religious leader without informing them beforehand. After the briefing, Rubio told reporters that the United States struck Iran preemptively to forestall an Israeli attack. A day later, he tried to clarify his words.

“The bottom line is this: The president decided we weren’t going to get shot first,” Rubio said. “It’s that simple, guys.”

For members of Congress, the moment underscored how marginal a role Congress can play in a war that has spread in two weeks to more than a dozen neighboring countries, killed at least 13 American soldiers and cost billions of dollars.

In the two weeks since the war began, Congress has been largely sidelined. Lawmakers have gone through classified briefings, television interviews and conversations with reporters in hallways but have taken little official action on Trump’s war effort; Only two unsuccessful votes aimed at limiting the conflict.

Much of the debate took place online, where some GOP lawmakers received scoldings from colleagues for saying “America.”More Islamophobia is needed” and others Islamophobic discourse About Iran and its people.

At the same time, Trump pressured Congress to focus on a controversial voting bill instead, signaling to the Republican-led Congress that he wanted them to focus on the election rather than a historic moment abroad. Meanwhile, the president gave varying comments to Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Friday about how long he plans to stay at war in the Middle East, saying he would end hostilities by: “I feel it in my bones.”

Taking Trump’s comments at face value, Democrats and some Republicans have begun to worry that more American troops could be deployed in Iran to complete the mission — and lawmakers are still trying to understand the war’s threat to global energy markets as war strikes in the Strait of Hormuz and Americans face rising gas prices.

The Republican majority has largely rallied behind President Trump, blocking measures in both the House and the Senate that would have halted the war against Iran and forced it to seek congressional approval for additional hostilities.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) likened Trump’s efforts to rein in the war effort to siding “with the enemy.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) argued even more enthusiastically that there is precedent for presidents to use military force without congressional authority.

In his speech to the Senate, Graham said, “The norm in this country is not to declare war by Congress, but to use the military by the commander in chief. Sometimes permission is requested from Congress, sometimes not.” “Moreover, it is not requested.”

Presidents have frequently used military force without a formal declaration of war, including in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, but experts argue there is a difference between skipping a formal declaration and bypassing Congress entirely.

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who served under President Obama, cited the 2011 raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, as an example of how the process once worked.

Panetta said that although this was a covert Special Forces operation, he personally briefed key congressional leaders before bin Laden was killed.

He said such consultations no longer took place. Instead, he said, lawmakers learn about military operations by watching the news, as ordinary Americans do, and then demand to be informed.

“Until then, the country was largely committed to war,” Panetta said.

Presidents of both parties have unilaterally expanded their powers to wage war, but Panetta said he believes Trump has crossed a new threshold by eliminating not only congressional approval but also the courtesy of a briefing.

“This is not good for our democracy. It is not a good process,” he said. “This was not something our ancestors would have wanted.”

But Rubio maintained that the administration had informed congressional leaders. He told reporters he had no legal obligation to notify all members of Congress and said he had briefed the Gang of Eight, a group made up of top Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate, as well as leaders of the relevant intelligence committees, within 48 hours of the attack on Iran.

“We have notified congressional leadership,” Rubio said. “The law says we must notify them 48 hours after the start of hostilities. That’s what we did.”

In a statement released Friday, the White House defended the president’s approach to the war regarding how Congress became involved, adding that Trump and administration officials “continued to brief bipartisan lawmakers in Congress on the operation as the United States continued to dominate.”

“Past presidents have been talking about this for 47 years, but only President Trump has had the courage to do something about it,” said White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales.

Democrats say they are ‘flying blind’

Democratic lawmakers, including those who participated in classified briefings, accused administration officials of keeping them “in the dark” and began demanding public hearings in Congress.

“I want this administration to testify publicly under oath on a series of questions we have so the American people can see for themselves,” said Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles). “I believe this administration is lying to the American public and Congress.”

Gomez, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said he never expected he would have to spend so much time trying to figure out whether the administration was lying to lawmakers.

“I think that’s what makes it difficult,” he said.

Minority Democrats have limited authority to hold these briefings but continue to publicly pressure the administration.

Senate Democrats sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week demanding a response by Wednesday about reports that a U.S. airstrike hit an elementary school in Iran.

Iranian officials said at least 175 people, most of them children, died in the explosion. The United States did not claim responsibility for the attack, and Hegseth said the matter was under investigation. Trump claimed that Iran was responsible for the attack, without providing any evidence.

Searching for answers has been a common theme among Democrats since the beginning of the war. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), for example, said after a classified briefing last week that he “left with more questions than answers” and genuine concern about the potential deployment of American troops to Iran.

The power of the bag

If the war continues, Congress will still have some influence.

Under War Powers Resolution Under the law passed by Congress in 1973, unauthorized deployments in hostile situations must end after 60 days unless Congress votes to declare war or passes a law authorizing the use of the military.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he told Hegseth and Rubio that if they violated that provision it would be like “stealing money” for actions not approved by Congress and warned they could be held civilly liable.

Sherman said the 60-day period would be an important moment for Congress to step in; Otherwise, concerns that Trump has “uncontrolled power” will increase.

He thinks Republicans, who have been in control so far, see their job as “servants to the president” and that the Constitution already gives Trump “too much power over the military.”

“If Congress is controlled by people who want to be servants of the president, it will do an incredibly poor job of monitoring the president,” he said.

Beyond the War Powers Resolution, lawmakers also have authority over the appropriations process and can reject the administration’s request to increase military funding.

In his speech to the Senate in early March, Graham said, “Congress can stop military action by cutting funding. If you don’t like the war in Iran, say we won’t pay for it. Constitutionally, we had the budget.”

The Trump administration’s war with Iran cost $11.3 billion in the first six days, according to the Associated Press.

But Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Diego), who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, says he was only aware of that figure because of news reports, not because the Pentagon is being transparent.

“We’re flying blind because we don’t know. We don’t know how much is being spent or what it’s being spent on,” Levin said.

Depending on the course of the conflict, the military will likely need to increase its ammunition stockpile, Levin says.

Levin said if the Pentagon requests more money, he will try to make sure “not another dollar goes to these without clear answers and a clear plan.”