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Trump Launches Strikes on Iranian Nuclear Sites as Congress Gears Up for War Powers Vote

A scheduled House vote on a bipartisan War Powers Resolution will test lawmakers’ efforts to rein in executive military authority.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) looks on, after President Donald Trump delivered remarks on tariffs, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
United States Capitol Building, Washington DC, October 27, 2024.
Over 45 Congress members are backing War Powers Resolution against Donald Trump.
Main image: President Donald Trump addresses the nation, alongside Vice President JD Vance (L), Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd R) and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (R), from the White House in Washington, D.C on June 21, following the announcement that the U.S. bombed nuclear sites in Iran. Left inset: Representative Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) leaves a House Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on June 4 in Washington, D.C. Right inset: Representative Ro Khanna (D-California) at the Rayburn House Office Building on June 11, 2024 in Washington, D.C.

Overview

  • On June 22, US forces used bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike Iran’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities in what the administration described as a “very successful” operation.
  • Pentagon and White House officials say they notified congressional leaders within the 48-hour window required by the 1973 War Powers Resolution, while critics contend the president bypassed the Constitution by acting without prior Congressional approval.
  • Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna have secured more than fifty co-sponsors for a House resolution that would compel Congress to authorize any further military action against Iran.
  • House Democrats, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sean Casten, have accused the president of violating constitutional war powers and urged impeachment, whereas Republicans such as Mike Rounds and Markwayne Mullin affirm Trump’s commander-in-chief authority.
  • Iran’s foreign minister condemned the strikes as unlawful under international law and vowed to defend the country’s sovereignty, raising fears of retaliation and broader escalation in the Middle East.