By John L. Micek | jmicek@masslive.com
For U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a “yes” vote on the bipartisan war powers act set to come before the lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week is a no-brainer.
The attack on Iran that started last weekend, and that has only intensified in the intervening days, with the loss of six American lives, is “a war of choice” that took place “without congressional authorization,” Auchincloss, D-4th District, and a Marine veteran, wrote in a post to X.
The Newton lawmaker pointed to what he said were President Donald Trump’s ”lies to the Iranian protesters about help on the way, his weakness in Ukraine, and his blood-for-oil scheme in Venezuela.”
And because of that, Republican Trump has “no credibility on either the strategy or law guiding foreign policy,” he continued.
“Congress must reclaim its war powers and insist that military force against Iran be debated in plain view of the American people, not on Signal chats,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, made a similar argument.
“Donald Trump does not care about civilians in the region or the safety of US Troops,” the Boston Democrat said in a social media post. “He’s illegally bypassing Congress and starting a war with Iran that has already killed dozens of children. This is unacceptable. Congress must take action to rein in Trump and save lives.”
The fiery rhetoric from Auchincloss and Pressley notwithstanding, the congressional Democrats and the handful of Republicans seeking to reassert legislative authority over war-making have their work cut out for them.
The U.S. Senate could vote as soon as Wednesday, with a vote in the House expected to follow on Thursday, on a war powers resolution that would forbid further action in Iran without congressional authorization.
Speaking to NBC’s “Meet the Press” program over the weekend, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., gave the resolution a 40% to 60% chance of advancing out of the House this week.
“It depends if we can keep several Democrats in line,” Khanna said, according to NPR. “But I believe that this is a disastrous vote for any Democrat — to vote for Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East.”
Khanna, joined by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is sponsoring the House’s version of the resolution. On the other side of Capitol Hill, U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., are shepherding the legislation through the upper chamber.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., one of Trump’s most vocal allies, has predicted that Republicans will easily defeat the war powers resolution.
“The idea that we would take the ability of our commander in chief, the president, take his authority away right now to finish this job, is a frightening prospect to me,” Johnson said, according to Politico. “I’m certainly hopeful, and I believe we do have the votes to put it down.”
But even if it clears the chambers, it still would have to overcome a presidential veto to become law, NPR reported. Such a vote would require two-thirds support — a significantly higher bar for passage.
It’s also unclear how much would change now that American forces are fully engaged in the fighting — and more appear to be on the way.
Trump has justified the attack, arguing that it was necessary to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The Republican has called on Iranians, thousands of whom have died in protests, to rise up and topple their government.
For at least one Bay State lawmaker, that’s not a justification for an attack.
“Donald Trump and (U.S. Defense Secretary) Pete Hegseth have no congressional approval to send US troops into Iran. Period,” U.S. Sen. Markey, D-Mass., said in a post to X on Tuesday. “This illegal, unconstitutional war must end. The Senate should be voting right now to put a stop to this conflict. We cannot delay.”
In a speech from the Senate floor on Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged her colleagues to move swiftly to constrain Trump’s war-making powers.
Trump “decided to drag the American people into a reckless, illegal war with Iran. A war based on lies. A war launched with no imminent threat to our country,”Warren, who sits on the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, said.
“A new generation of veterans will have to live with the horrors of war,”the Cambridge lawmaker continued.
“The people who will be asked to sacrifice their lives are the American people. It won’t be Donald Trump. It won’t be Pete Hegseth. It will be our sons and daughters, our nieces and nephews, our grandchildren,” she said.
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, argued that Americans deserve answers and transparency about the White House’s long-term plans for Iran.
And that means “Congress must reassert its constitutionally mandated war power and debate this matter on its merits in plain view,” Neal, D-1st District, wrote in a lengthy social media post.
U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-2nd District, was equally critical.
“American troops killed. 20% of global oil & gas traffic halted. U.S. bases under attack. Trump admin says it could last for a month & won’t rule out troops on the ground,” the Central Massachusetts lawmaker said on X.
“Saying this ‘isn’t a war’ is the stupidest thing I’ve heard in a long time. And I’m in Congress,” he continued, responding to comments on CNN made by U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who was defending the administration.
But if the polls are any indication, more Americans are onside with McGovern.
Only one in four respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted over the weekend said they approved of the joint American/Israeli attack, while roughly half, including one in four Republicans, said they thought Trump was too willing to use military force.
A little more than a quarter of respondents (27%) said they approved of the U.S. strikes on Iran’s political, military, and energy infrastructure, while 43% disapproved. Nearly 3 in 10 (29%) said they were unsure.
With control of Capitol Hill on the line in this November’s midterm elections, and Republicans steeling themselves for heavy losses, Democrats slammed Trump for prosecuting a costly overseas war while neglecting pocketbook issues at home.
“Donald Trump is using taxpayer funds to bomb Iran while he jacks up health care costs by thousands of dollars,” U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote in a post to X that highlighted a spike in Affordable Care Act premiums.
U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, D-5th District, pointed to the recent spike in gas prices to buttress her arguments that Trump had forgotten about the home front.
“Less than a week into Trump’s reckless war in the Middle East, gas prices are already rising,” Clark said. “He promised safety, affordability, and no new wars. He lied.”
