'Instincts for restraint': Senate divided over who gets to declare war

Lawmakers are debating what relation Congress should play arsenic the White House weighs its options successful Iran. 

Does the legislative assemblage person sole powerfulness to state war, oregon should that powerfulness beryllium ceded to the president?

The backmost and distant comes arsenic President Donald Trump mulls whether to articulation Israel successful its run against Iran oregon proceed pushing for a diplomatic extremity and instrumentality to the negotiating array to hammer retired a atomic woody with the Islamic Republic.

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President Donald Trump June 15, 2025 (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Helping to ignite the arguments connected Capitol Hill are a brace of resolutions successful the Senate and House that would necessitate statement and a ballot earlier immoderate unit is utilized against Iran. The measures are designed to enactment a cheque connected Trump’s powerfulness and reaffirm Congress’ law authority.

Senators connected some sides of the aisle are divided connected whether they judge they person sole authorization to authorize a onslaught against Iran oregon if Trump tin bash truthful connected his ain volition. A predominant statement is that the full constituent of supporting Israel is to forestall the Islamic Republic from creating oregon acquiring a atomic weapon.

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Israel has been successful successful taking retired a fewer pieces of infrastructure that were cardinal to that ngo but has yet to bash existent harm to the highly-fortified Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant and would apt request assistance from the U.S. to ace done the layers of stone shielding the site.

"The Constitution says the prerogative to state war, the powerfulness to state war, is solely from the Congress," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, told Fox News Digital. "It can't originate from the White House. There is nary law authorization for the president to weaponry anyone without asking support first."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., talks with reporters successful the U.S. Capitol aft the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act May 22, 2025.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc )

The Constitution divides warfare powers between Congress and the White House, giving lawmakers the sole powerfulness to state war, portion the president acts arsenic the commandant successful main directing the military.

Then came the War Powers Act of 1973, which sought to further specify those roles and guarantee that the president has to springiness Congress announcement wrong 48 hours of the deployment of troops who tin lone beryllium deployed for 60 days. Notably, Congress has not formally declared warfare since World War II.

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"There's truly nary statement for wherefore helium couldn't obey the Constitution," Paul said. "Now, my anticipation is that helium won't bash it, his instincts for restraint would prevail."

Fox News reached retired to the White House for comment.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., disagreed with Paul and said helium believed Trump had the quality to authorize a onslaught but acknowledged it was "mixed" and "clouded" erstwhile factoring successful the War Powers Act.

"It's wide that some Congress and the president person a relation to play," helium said. "But if you're suggesting, should the president travel to Congress archetypal making that decision, it’s conditioned upon what twelvemonth you privation Congress to marque a decision. Sometimes it takes america months, adjacent years, to get thing done."

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks with reporters. (Reuters)

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters helium believed Trump was "perfectly successful his close to bash what he's done truthful far" and reiterated that the eventual extremity was to forestall Iran from having a atomic weapon.

Senate Republicans person recovered an improbable state among Democrats successful Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has vehemently advocated for Israel portion his enactment has wavered.

Fetterman told Fox News Digital helium did not judge a onslaught connected Iran was "starting a war," echoing Thune’s sentiment that "we person a precise circumstantial ngo to destruct the atomic facilities. That's not a war. That is simply a indispensable subject … workout to destruct a atomic facility."

And Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital "it’s ne'er been ruled" whether the War Powers Act was constitutional, but helium noted that the enactment inactive gave the president the authorization to enactment arsenic commandant successful chief.

"I deliberation it's beauteous overmuch an irrelevant constituent if President Trump decides to assistance Israel with immoderate subject enactment with those bunker-busting bombs," Johnson said. "It's good wrong the timeframe of him coming nether immoderate benignant of legislature action."

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., arrives for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee proceeding successful the Dirksen Senate Office Building April 3, 2025 (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Still, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who introduced his warfare powers solution Monday, believed the measurement was gaining momentum among his colleagues.

Kaine told Fox News Digital that, arsenic events person developed, it made the "urgency" of his solution much apparent. He besides expected it would get a ballot successful the Senate sometime adjacent week. He argued that immoderate Republicans would "very overmuch privation to beryllium successful the mediate of hostilities with Iran."

"But the absorbing happening is, they've ne'er introduced a warfare authorization due to the fact that their constituents would say, ‘Are you nuts?’" helium said. "And, so, they would similar the president to bash it, but they wouldn't privation to bash it themselves."

When asked if that was a determination to displacement blasted elsewhere, Kaine said, "They deliberation it will, but it won’t."