Robert Reich - Trump’s war is so unpopular that Republican members of Congress don’t want to have to go on record as voting in favor of it. With midterm elections in six months, they know their votes in favor of Trump’s war could be held over their heads — especially if the war drags on, or if gas prices continue to rise because Iran is blocking the Strait of Hormuz, or both.
They’ve let the White House know that forcing them to vote on the war will hurt their chances of maintaining control of Congress.
So congressional Republicans are choosing the coward’s way out: agree with Hegseth and Trump that there’s no need for such a vote because the cease-fire has tolled the clock. Or claim, even more absurdly (as has the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson) that there’s no “war” to begin with, and hence no reason for such a vote.
The Hill - The partisan battle over authorizing the Iran War has shifted to one of semantics, as the sides haggle over a contentious deadline created by a Vietnam-era law.
....The clash is renewing the age-old debate over the separation of powers when it comes to the use of military force. And it promises to continue for many weeks to come, as Democrats are vowing a strategy of forcing vote after vote on war powers resolutions, if only to put Republicans on record supporting a conflict that’s grown wildly unpopular with voters.
“The Founders of our country gave Congress, as representatives of the American people, the ultimate decision of when we go to war,” said Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.). “Trump has no plan to sustain the current conflict, no plan to transition the current Iranian government toward democracy, and no plan to de-escalate or contain the conflict from spreading throughout the region.”
Garamendi is among a growing list of liberal Democrats who have introduced war powers resolutions in the days leading up to the 60-day threshold. The campaign, being led by the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), is designed to stagger the resolutions so they “ripen” — that is, mature to the point of becoming eligible for a floor vote — on a rolling basis. The tactic will allow Democrats to force a barrage of votes on the war, interspersed at regular intervals as Congress inches closer to the midterm elections.
“This is what I hope will be a steady stream of these until we get some Republicans to join us,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who has sponsored his own war powers resolution.
So far, Republicans have been virtually united against the notion of limiting Trump’s war powers. Two resolutions have already come to the floor in the House, and six more in the Senate. All of them have been blocked by Trump’s GOP allies, who have warned that any effort to restrain U.S. forces amid the conflict will only empower Tehran’s Islamic regime at the expense of America’s national security.
It’s a confounding sentiment given the U.S. warships still blockading Iranian ports and the possibility that Trump could launch a new round of strikes at any time. But time has clearly become flexible to the Trump administration and its allies. Depending on who you ask, and when, America’s war against Iran is simultaneously ongoing and does not exist; it began 60 days ago but also 40 years ago. The war ended in early April, but our “warfighters” still need unconditional support to achieve victory.
The result is a quantum-flux state of play regarding the Iran war that’s as absurd as it is illegal.
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