{"id":2576428,"date":"2026-03-05T11:32:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T16:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rand-paul-excoriates-congress-for-failure-to-pass-war-powers-act\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T11:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T16:34:12","slug":"rand-paul-excoriates-congress-for-failure-to-pass-war-powers-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rand-paul-excoriates-congress-for-failure-to-pass-war-powers-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Rand Paul excoriates Congress for failure to pass War Powers act"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frand-paul-excoriates-congress-for-failure-to-pass-war-powers-act%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2576428&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) criticized Congress for failing too pass a War Powers Resolution aimed at limiting President Trump\u2019s military actions in Iran, and he was the only Republican to back Democrats on the measure. The Senate rejected the Kaine-led resolution, which would have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hakeem-jeffries-says-he-is-still-waiting-for-gang-of-eight-briefing-on-iran\/\" title=\"Hakeem Jeffries says he is still waiting for \u2018Gang of Eight\u2019 briefing on ...\">required congressional authorization<\/a> for continued U.S.military action against Iran, by a 47-53 vote.<\/p>\n<p>Key points:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The resolution invoked the 1973 War Powers Resolution and would have forced the Trump administration to obtain Congressional approval before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israelis-agree-to-fight-terrorists-while-fighting-each-other\/\" title=\"Israelis unite against terrorism amidst internal conflicts.\">ongoing military operations<\/a> against Iran.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The move came <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-says-its-message-for-dems-sparring-with-biden-on-israel-is-to-step-back-from-politics-for-a-moment\/\" title=\"White House Says Its Message For Dems Sparring With Biden On Israel Is To \u2018Step Back From Politics For A Moment\u2019\">amid escalating tensions<\/a> with Iran after U.S. and Israeli strikes and Iran\u2019s retaliatory missile and drone attacks, including an attack that killed six U.S. soldiers in Kuwait.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Paul argued that the public is ill-informed about the Iran conflict and criticized Trump\u2019s dialog style, saying Americans were not asked to bear the burdens of war and that the true costs and casualties were not explained.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; He warned that conducting military actions without congressional authorization undermines the constitutional balance of powers and accused Congress of seeking \u201cplausible deniability\u201d to avoid accountability before midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The House was expected to take up a similar Iran War powers Resolution led by reps.Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie in the coming days.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Paul has long pressed for greater Congressional oversight over U.S. military engagements and has opposed action against Iran in the past.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Rand Paul excoriates Congress for failure to pass War Powers Resolution: &lsquo;Should be ashamed&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2523939\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/rand-paul\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"230\">Rand Paul<\/a> (R-KY) blasted his colleagues for failing to pass a resolution aimed at limiting President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump&rsquo;s<\/a> military campaign in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/iran\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"100\">Iran<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Kentucky Republican made the remarks in an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/sen-rand-paul-america-war-but-americans-didnt-vote\">opinion column<\/a> published on <em>Fox News<\/em> a day after the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/senate\/\" type=\"category\" id=\"84\">Senate<\/a> rejected a measure that would have required congressional authorization for continued U.S. military action against Iran. Paul was the lone Republican to join Democrats backing the resolution, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4480442\/trump-avoids-iran-setback-with-senate-war-powers-vote\/\">which failed in a 47-53 vote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4481189\/democrats-sober-talarico-nomination-texas\/\">Democrats cautious after Talarico nomination in red Texas: &lsquo;Everything has to go right&rsquo;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4481057\/north-carolina-senate-mcginnis-ejected-hearing-protest\/\">North Carolina Senate candidate ejected from Senate hearing in anti-war protest<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4480442\/trump-avoids-iran-setback-with-senate-war-powers-vote\/\">Trump avoids Iran setback with Senate war powers vote<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;The constitutional separation of war powers is not just some notion that belongs in our history books,&rdquo; Paul said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a vital part of a democratic republic. This <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"31\">Congress<\/a> should be ashamed of how it has allowed this unilateral march to war.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The resolution, led by Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tim-kaine\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1134\">Tim Kaine<\/a> (D-VA), invoked the 1973 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/war-powers-resolution\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2577\">War Powers Resolution<\/a>, a law designed to limit a president&rsquo;s ability to involve U.S. forces in hostilities without approval from Congress. The measure would have required the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"339\">Trump administration<\/a> to seek congressional authorization to continue military operations against Iran.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The vote came <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >amid rapidly escalating tensions<\/a> with Iran following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian leadership and military targets. The conflict intensified after Iran launched missile and drone attacks across the Middle East, one of which <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4481360\/pentagon-identity-two-soldiers-kuwait-iran-drone-attack\/\">killed six U.S. soldiers<\/a> in Kuwait.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-canva wp-block-embed-canva\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Iran retaliatory strikes\" src=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/design\/DAHC0cTMhqE\/wNLCT0r_9HBzdQR8VYc5jg\/view?embed&amp;meta\" height=\"464\" width=\"696\" style=\"border: none; border-radius: 8px; width: 696px; height: 464px;\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" allow=\"fullscreen\"><\/iframe> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Paul said the public is ill-informed about the war in Iran and criticized Trump&rsquo;s manner of communication.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Americans were not asked if they would bear the burdens of war. Instead, the American people were told, through a presidential eight-minute video posted around 2:30 in the morning, that the country was, once again, at war,&rdquo; Paul said. &ldquo;We have no idea how many casualties the American people are supposed to tolerate. We cannot know the answer to these questions because no one bothered to make the case that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/defense\/wars\/war-with-iran\">war with Iran<\/a> was worth the sacrifice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignleft is-type-wp-embed is-provider-flourish wp-block-embed-flourish\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/27896451\/embed#?secret=hOX0skws2U\" data-secret=\"hOX0skws2U\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"575\" width=\"696\"><\/iframe> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Paul warned that allowing the executive branch to conduct military operations without congressional authorization undermines the constitutional balance of powers.<\/p>\n<p>Paul framed his colleagues&rsquo; decision as an intentional move to evade a public debate on Iran. He said lawmakers want to have &ldquo;plausible deniability&rdquo; as they head into the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11675\">midterm elections<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The congressional leadership &mdash; resigned to their own irrelevance &mdash; will gladly hand the president the power to initiate war in exchange for plausible deniability,&rdquo; Paul said. &ldquo;Congressional leaders want to make the case to voters that they are not to be held accountable at the ballot box because they played no role in the decision to go to war. That is not statesmanship. That is shameful.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4478465\/trump-denies-israel-forced-us-attack-iran\/\"><strong>TRUMP DENIES ISRAEL &lsquo;FORCED&rsquo; US TO ATTACK IRAN: &lsquo;I MIGHT HAVE FORCED ISRAEL&rsquo;S HAND&rsquo;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A longtime vocal critic of U.S. military intervention in the Middle East, Paul has frequently argued that Congress must reassert its authority over war powers. He previously opposed military action against Iran and has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4423676\/rand-paul-is-skeptical-us-will-use-military-to-take-greenland\/\">pushed for greater oversight<\/a> of U.S. military engagements abroad.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The effort to rein in Trump&rsquo;s military power in Iran is not yet over, as the House will vote on the Iran War Powers Resolution from Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) on Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paraphrase:<br \/>\nSen. Rand Paul criticized Congress for not passing a War Powers Resolution aimed at limiting President Trump\u2019s actions in Iran. He was the only Republican to back the Kaine-led measure, which failed 47\u201353. Paul argued that the constitutional separation of war powers is essential to a functioning republic and said Congress should be ashamed for allowing a unilateral push toward war. The proposal would have required the Trump administration to obtain congressional authorization to continue military operations against Iran under the 1973 War Powers Resolution. He also accused the public of not being properly informed about the conflict and criticized Trump\u2019s late-night messaging. Paul warned that letting the executive branch conduct war without congressional approval undermines checks and balances, accusing congressional leaders of seeking plausible deniability ahead of the midterms. He noted that the House is preparing to vote on a similar Iran War Powers Resolution introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie.<\/p>\n<p>55-character version:<br \/>\nPaul blasts Congress for failing Iran War Powers vote<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4130,"featured_media":2576429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26028582827621.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[8049,4402,72156,75138],"class_list":["post-2576428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-accountability","tag-congress","tag-rand-paul-2","tag-war-powers-act-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26028582827621.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2576428"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2576432,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576428\/revisions\/2576432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2576429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2576428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2576428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2576428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}