Congress set to debate war powers as Iran conflict is already unfolding

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Congress is preparing to open a war powers debate over President Donald Trump’s authority to strike Iran even as the bombing is already underway and the country is effectively at war.

Bombs are falling, people are being killed, and threats of retaliation are escalating, as the U.S. pours taxpayer dollars into a military campaign expected to last weeks with no clear objective or endpoint. 

Unlike the lengthy congressional buildup to the 2003 Iraq War after the Sept. 11 attacks, or the more limited U.S. strikes on Venezuela in recent years, the joint U.S.–Israel assault on Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury, is already in full swing with no sign of slowing.

At least three U.S. service members have been killed, and Trump warned Sunday that "there will likely be more."

The moment is defining for Congress, which alone has the constitutional power to declare war, and for a Republican president, who has repeatedly expanded his authority in a second term marked by an expansive view of executive power.

"The Constitution is intended to prevent the accumulation of power in any one branch of government - and in any one person in government," said David Janovsky, acting director of The Constitution Project at the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog organization.

"Congress is the people's representatives in a way that the president isn't, even though we tend to focus on the president," he said. "We need the people's representatives to weigh in on whether we, the people, are going to war right now."

War powers as a check on presidential authority 

Congress is supposed to sign off on major military action, either through a formal declaration of war or an authorization for the use of military force, but that rarely happens in practice.

Congress has declared war only five times in U.S. history, most recently in 1941, the day after the Pearl Harbor attack. Lawmakers approved an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) for the 1990 Gulf War and again in 2001 and 2002 to launch the post‑9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

During the Vietnam era, Congress created the War Powers Resolution as a last‑resort tool to restrict presidents who deployed U.S. forces without congressional approval.

Both the House and Senate are preparing to vote on new war powers resolutions this week.

Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said President Trump "does not have the right to do this on his own."

"When the president commits American forces to a war of choice, he needs to come before Congress and the American people and ask for a declaration of war," Warner said on CNN's "State of the Union."

While lawmakers have criticized Iran’s government and its nuclear ambitions, Democrats say Trump has not explained the reasoning for the war or outlined a strategy for what comes next. Trump’s MAGA coalition is also fracturing, with some supporters arguing he is abandoning his "America First" pledge by steering the country into another overseas conflict. 

Many lawmakers fear a prolonged entanglement after the operation killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and hundreds of people in the region.

White House officials are expected to brief congressional leaders and committees this week, but the sessions will be held behind closed doors, out of public view.

READ MORE: Live updates: Trump says Iran operations likely to last 4 to 5 weeks

Power of the purse can stop wars 

Presidents from both parties have steadily expanded their ability to launch limited military operations without first seeking congressional approval. 

Barack Obama’s intervention in Libya and George H.W. Bush’s invasion of Panama are among the actions carried out without formal authorization from Capitol Hill.

But restraining a president's war powers have rarely succeeded. Even if Congress were to pass a war powers resolution aimed at restricting President Trump’s actions in Iran, lawmakers in both chambers are unlikely to gather the two‑thirds vote needed to override a veto.

Trump has largely dismissed Congress’ authority to set boundaries on his decisions, including on matters of war. 

In his most recent State of the Union address, he mentioned Iran only briefly, signaling that congressional support was not a priority.

John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said the Constitution intentionally sets up a struggle between the president and Congress over military authority, but gives lawmakers an advantage since they control of federal spending.

"Congress, they know how to stop this if they want to," said Yoo, who helped draft the Bush administration's 2001 and 2002 use of force authorizations. The Vietnam War ended once Congress pulled funding, he said.

Still, Congress is currently led by a Republican majority that largely backs Trump’s approach toward Iran. Lawmakers recently approved roughly $175 billion in new Pentagon funding as part of the sweeping tax legislation he signed into law last year.

With Trump’s party holding power in both chambers, Yoo said it’s no surprise Republicans aren’t pushing back. "They agree with him," Yoo said.

Debate in Congress begins 

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said ahead of this week’s debates that President Trump has already outlined his approach to Iran.

Cotton said Sunday that Trump has made clear the U.S. does not plan to send ground troops into Iran. Instead, he said Americans should expect an "extended air and naval campaign" in the region.

He acknowledged this type of mission could lead to U.S. pilots being shot down, though he said they would be recovered.

He expects a campaign lasting several weeks as Iran selects a new leader and decides how to respond to the U.S. strike.

"There's no simple answer for what's going to come next," Cotton said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

U.S.Donald J. TrumpWashington, D.C.