Massie says ‘no imminent threat’ from Iran authorized Trump to bypass Congress for strikes – Washington Examiner
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has publicly criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to engage militarily in Israel’s conflict wiht Iran, arguing that Trump bypassed Congress in an unconstitutional manner. According to Massie, there was no imminent threat justifying such military actions, as outlined in the War Powers Act, which allows the president to authorize military strikes only when there’s an immediate danger to the U.S. Massie, alongside other lawmakers including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), contends that Congress should have been called back from recess to debate any military actions, asserting that war powers reside with Congress. While some Republicans support Trump’s decision based on identified threats, key Democrats on intelligence committees report they were not briefed on the situation prior to the strikes, raising further questions about the legality of the president’s actions.
Massie says ‘no imminent threat’ from Iran authorized Trump to bypass Congress for strikes
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) increased his criticism of President Donald Trump’s decision to enter Israel’s war with Iran.
Massie and other members of Congress have criticized Trump for circumventing congressional approval for war as outlined in the Constitution. The president can only authorize strikes if there is an imminent threat to the United States, but Massie said such a threat did not exist.
“There was no imminent threat to the United States which would authorize that,” Massie said.
He said the administration “misinterpreted” the War Powers Act.
“Congress was on vacation when all of this was happening. We haven’t been briefed, they should have called us all back [from House recess], and, frankly, we should have debated this War Powers Resolution that Ro Khanna and I offered,” he said.
Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-CA) Iran War Powers Resolution highlights that the Constitution grants the power to declare war to Congress. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) had introduced his own version of the resolution in the Senate.
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), who typically agrees with Trump on most issues, questioned his authority in authorizing the strike without congressional approval.
“While President Trump’s decision may prove just, it’s hard to conceive a rationale that’s Constitutional,” he said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that the administration acted under the War Powers Act by notifying members of Congress after the strikes. The War Powers Act requires the executive branch to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and prohibits armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) claimed that there was an identified threat and that “leaders in Congress were aware of the urgency of this situation and the Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act.”
Top Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), however, said they were not briefed on the strike. They are both members of the so-called Gang of Eight, a group of bipartisan congressional leaders that is usually briefed on classified intelligence matters. Republicans in the Gang of Eight were briefed on the matter.
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