WASHIGNTON
\nThe US Congress meets this week to consider a Senate war powers resolution and two competing measures in the House of Representatives aimed at limiting President Donald Trump\u2019s authority to expand US military operations against Iran without explicit congressional approval.
\nThe Senate resolution, led by Senator Tim Kaine (Democrat\u2013Virginia), invokes the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which was enacted during the Vietnam War to check presidential war-making authority. If adopted, it would require the termination of the US armed forces\u2019 involvement in hostilities against Iran unless Congress authorises their continuation.
\n\u201cThe Constitution says we\u2019re not supposed to be at war without a vote of Congress,\u201d Kaine said. \u201cThe lives of our troops are at risk. We ought to come back to Washington right away and vote on this.\u201d In the House, Rep. Ro Khanna (Democrat\u2013California) and Rep. Thomas Massie (Republican\u2013Kentucky) have introduced a bipartisan resolution directing the president to remove US forces from hostilities against Iran without congressional approval.
\nAt the same time, a separate and more cautious House approach has been backed by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (Democrat\u2013New Jersey) and other centrists, who have stopped short of demanding an immediate halt but called for compliance with existing law and congressional consultation. Gottheimer said he expects the president to \u201ccomply with the War Powers Act.\u201d
\nThe votes follow coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iranian military and political targets, an escalation that has reportedly resulted in American casualties and raised fears of a broader regional conflict.
\nDemocratic leaders have framed their position around congressional oversight rather than immediate disengagement. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat\u2013New York) said he had urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to \u201cbe straight with Congress and the American people about the objectives of these strikes and what comes next,\u201d adding that the Senate \u201cshould return to session to pass a war powers resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHIGNTON The US Congress meets this week to consider a Senate war powers resolution and two competing measures in the House of Representatives aimed at limiting President Donald Trump\u2019s authority to expand US military operations against Iran without explicit congressional approval. The Senate resolution, led by Senator Tim Kaine (Democrat\u2013Virginia), invokes the War Powers Resolution […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-534903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n