Congress Must Reassert War Powers as Administration Readies More Military Strikes

In response to the Trump administration’s threats to attack Iran, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) are preparing to force a vote on their War Powers Resolution to require Congress to approve military action in Iran. In light of the administration’s pattern of bypassing Congress before taking military action, Issue One Vice President of Advocacy Alix Fraser provided the following statement:

“Congress should decide when our country enters a war and when American lives should be put on the line. But right now, the administration is again on the verge of taking unilateral military action without even consulting Congress — to the detriment  of U.S. national security and Americans’ safety.

“This action by the administration is not an isolated incident but part of a broader troubling pattern. Without consulting Congress, the administration is practicing gunboat diplomacy and has gone so far with it as to bring about regime change in Venezuela.

“Congress must reassert its constitutional authority immediately. Rep. Khanna’s and Rep. Massie’s bipartisan War Powers Resolution is a good first step, but the problem of Congress ceding its war powers goes back decades. Congress must take back its power as the people’s voices in Washington. Our country needs a transformational framework that will restore the vision that our founders had for Congress and endure for future generations of Americans.”

Background

Issue One’s We the People Playbook provides a framework for ending the executive branch’s unilateral action around declarations of war. It would encourage Congress to pass legislation that would shorten the window for unauthorized military actions and cut off funding for wars not explicitly approved by Congress. Issue One coordinated with Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG), RepresentUS, Principles First, and The Chamberlain Network to develop policy recommendations that would receive broad, bipartisan support and insert them into this playbook.