Overview

• President Trump is weighing possible military action against Iran without seeking fresh congressional authorization
• Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie filed a House resolution this week and Senator Tim Kaine proposed a companion measure in the Senate
• The 1973 War Powers Resolution obliges the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of engaging forces and to end hostilities after 60 days unless lawmakers approve continuation
• Presidents from Nixon through Biden have routinely bypassed the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day limit by citing AUMFs and Article II commander-in-chief powers for operations in Iran and beyond
• Deep partisan divides and electoral risks make a formal congressional authorization for strikes on Iran unlikely, confining oversight to symbolic procedural votes