If It Fails to Act, Congress Will Own Trump’s Middle East War
Americans Need Answers and Brave, Responsible Leadership
Congress has the power and duty to demand answers from President Trump and the Pentagon about the war they have just started in the Middle East. And it has the power to shut down that war if those answers aren’t good enough, by refusing to authorize or fund it.
The administration has made vague and contradictory statements about the justifications for its attack on Iran.
Trump started out by saying that the war was justified to eliminate “imminent” Iranian threats to the US. But the Pentagon later made clear in briefings to congressional staff that there was no imminent attack, or evidence that Iran planned to act preemptively against the US.
Trump has continuously said that the June 2025 strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capability. Yet in his Truth Social post at the start of this war, he pointed to Iran’s nuclear ambitions as another reason for the attack. Trump also mentioned Iran trying to develop long-range missiles, but US intelligence assessments have put that possibility at years away.
Meanwhile, neither Trump himself nor the Pentagon have been clear with the American people about the objectives of this war, how long it will last, its cost or economic impact, or how many American lives will be put at risk.
As with the administration’s attack on Venezuela, and previous strikes in Iran, it made no effort to seek authorization from Congress, flouting the Constitution’s language giving Congress—not the president—the power to declare war.
Given the lack of justification or authorization, experts have already pointed out that this war is illegal under US law as well as under international law—an act of aggression like Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Three US troops have already been killed, and five wounded, in this war. We’re already seeing the conflict involve other countries in the Middle East. Gas prices may well shoot up. The US is spending a fortune and using up resources it might need elsewhere in the future, including to defend against real threats one day. And we have no clarity about when, why, or how this conflict will end.
Congress represents the American people. Members of Congress from both major parties need to show courage, demand real answers and take responsibility for their actions. Rolling over and ceding power to Trump effectively means that they own this war too. Americans will not forget.