Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the sole authority to formally declare war, which it hasn’t done. Read more:⬇️more in the 1rst comments ⬇️👇🏻

 (NewsNation) — The United States and Israel attacked Iran over the weekend, and now, lawmakers are pushing for a vote to authorize continued military action as the threat of another long-term conflict in the Middle East looms.

Though war hasn’t officially been declared, the strikes — and subsequent retaliatory attacks — have seen Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed along with top officials, six U.S. service members and hundreds of civilians.
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Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the sole authority to formally declare war, which it hasn’t done.
Did Trump need Congress’ approval for the Iran strikes?

Trump and his administration have received both praise and criticism for the strikes, which went ahead without Congress’ approval. The president has said the strikes were needed to prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon that would be a threat to the American people.

Presidents, as the commander in chief, have the authority to conduct certain strategic military operations on their own and have used broad authority to act unilaterally in the absence of a formal declaration of war. The last time the U.S. formally declared war was World War II.

Both Republican and Democratic presidents have stretched the limits of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which was passed after the Vietnam War and requires them to tell Congress within 48 hours of deploying forces and to limit military action to 60 to 90 days without congressional authorization.

Democratic lawmakers and legal experts have questioned the rationale for the strikes and whether they violated the War Powers Resolution, arguing the administration has failed to consult Congress or explain its strategy for the operation or its aftermath. Some have questioned whether the president’s eight-minute Truth Social post announcing the strikes counts as an address to Congress.
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What is Congress voting on regarding Iran?

Reaction from lawmakers to the Iran strikes has mostly fallen along party lines, with several Democrats pushing for a vote on a war powers resolution that would require Trump to get congressional approval before engaging in further military action in Iran.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees who is co-sponsoring the war powers resolution, called the U.S. strikes in Iran “tragic” in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published Sunday.

Kaine told NewsNation he wants upcoming briefings to be made public: “If we’re losing our troops, if they’re losing their lives and getting injured, what do you mean you’re going to give us a briefing in a classified setting? If you feel good about what you’re doing, you wouldn’t mind sharing it.”

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said while Iran is a “bad actor and must be aggressively confronted” for its human rights abuses and the threat it poses to the U.S. and allies, the administration “must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war.”

Even if Congress is able to pass the resolution, the House and the Senate would be unlikely to tally the two-thirds majority needed to overcome a presidential veto.

Congress has previously failed to block other U.S. military actions, including in a Senate vote on Venezuela, but the roll calls stand as a public record and will give Democrats a chance to symbolically oppose continued military operations in the Middle East.
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GOP largely supports the strikes

The response by House Speaker Mike Johnson reflected the party’s longstanding views. Iran, he said, is facing “the severe consequences of its evil actions.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer released a statement showing support for the strikes against Iran, calling them a “bold, decisive act of strength by President Trump.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Trump is the first president in 47 years “to stand with the people of Iran and give them the backing they need.”

The Associated Press and NewsNation’s Steph Whiteside, Anna Kutz, Ashley N. Soriano and Tom Dempsey contributed to this report.