‘It’s a war’: US Democrats demand ‘immediate’ Congress vote on Iran strikes
Democrats are demanding an “immediate” vote in the US Congress over military action launched by Donald Trump against Iran, accusing the president of usurping the legislative branch’s power to declare war.
Trump announced the “massive and ongoing operation” in an eight-minute video, posted on social media at 2.30am (Washington time), promising to raze the country’s missile industry and annihilate its navy.
He also called on the people of Iran to overthrow the Islamic regime in Tehran. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” he said.
US officials have suggested this wave of strikes could last four to five days, which is in line with what an Israeli intelligence official told The Financial Times last week, although if the regime is brought down now that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed, it could end sooner.
Trump used the term “war” in his video, saying American casualties were always possible in war, but it was a “noble mission”.
The scope of the strikes and the president’s broad goal of toppling the Islamic Republic prompted Democrats to demand a vote in Congress over the military campaign, arguing that under the US Constitution and the War Powers Resolution, only Congress could declare war.
However, there is also division in the party about how to respond to Trump’s strikes, with some prominent voices denouncing the strikes while others are ambivalent or supportive.
Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, said Iran was a bad actor and must be restrained, but in the absence of exigent circumstances, Trump must seek congressional authorisation for pre-emptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war.
“The Trump administration must explain itself to the American people and Congress immediately and provide an ironclad justification for this act of war,” he said.
He also noted that if Iran’s nuclear facilities were “completely and totally obliterated” last year, as Trump claimed, “there should be no need to strike them now”.
‘The American people are once again dragged into a war they did not want’.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called and briefed senior members of Congress before the strikes. She said he called all eight members of the so-called Gang of Eight, and reached seven of them.
“The president and his national security team will continue to closely monitor the situation throughout the day,” Leavitt said on Saturday morning (US time).
The Gang of Eight, which comprises the top Democrats and Republicans in Congress and on the intelligence committee, was also briefed in person by Rubio about Iran earlier in the week.
Top Democrats are calling for a vote this week on a bipartisan resolution that would specifically require Trump to seek congressional approval for further activity against Iran – effectively, to enforce the existing War Powers Resolution of 1973.
Critics of the War Powers Resolution argue it is obsolete and does not effectively deal with modern military campaigns – chiefly, limited airstrikes – that fall short of a full conventional war.
They also say seeking congressional approval for such strikes would reveal the impending action to the enemy, removing the element of surprise and severely undermining its efficacy.
Rahm Emanuel, who was White House chief of staff to Democratic president Barack Obama, and is a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic nomination, said this was a case where congressional approval was needed.
“When you call for regime change, it is not a military action – it is a war,” he told CNN. “It’s a change of government and overthrowing a government … This is not a limited military action.”
Trump had given several reasons for the strikes, Emanuel said, including regime change. “It’s all of the above and more. Therefore … they [Congress] need to take a vote.”
But there is also division within the Democrats about how aggressively to resist Trump on Iran. While Jeffries and Senate leader Chuck Schumer have called for the administration to explain itself and seek congressional approval, they have not explicitly condemned the strikes.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive Democratic congresswoman from New York, described the military action as unlawful, unnecessary and catastrophic.
“The American people are once again dragged into a war they did not want by a president who does not care about the consequences of his actions,” she said, accusing Trump of being flippant about potential American casualties.
Democratic senator from Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren said Trump’s unilateral action was “dangerous and illegal” and called for the Senate to return immediately to decide whether war should be formally declared.
“It is a betrayal of the president’s duty to uphold the Constitution and a betrayal of the American people,” she said. “Your tax dollars are being used to bomb Iran … that is not ‘America first’.”
By contrast, Democratic senator from Pennsylvania John Fetterman, who frequently breaks with his party, said he fully supported Operation Epic Fury – the War Department’s codename for the campaign in Iran.
Republican senator Lindsey Graham, one of the biggest cheerleaders for military action against Iran in Congress, said Trump would not get the US involved in an ongoing war.
He told Fox News he believed the regime would be quickly toppled. “The mothership of terrorism is about to go down. There is a new dawn coming to the Middle East,” he said.
Read more on the US-Israel-Iran conflict
- Live updates: US, Israel attack Iran
- Moment by moment: How the US and Israel’s deadly assault on Iran unfolded
- Supreme Leader killed: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in strikes
- What we know so far: Why have Israel and the US attacked Iran?
- Trump and Netanyahu decide on war: US-Israeli alliance now above any other, writes David Crowe
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.