Did Congress Declare War on Iran? No — Trump Bombed Iran Without Any Congressional Authorization
Congress did not declare war on Iran. Not even close. President Trump launched Operation Epic Fury on Saturday, February 28, 2026, without a declaration of war, without an Authorization for Use of Military Force, and without even notifying congressional leaders beforehand. The strikes triggered one of the sharpest constitutional confrontations between the White House and Capitol Hill in decades — and the political fallout is accelerating by the hour.
No — Congress Never Voted to Authorize the Iran War
The Constitution says only Congress can declare war — but Democratic and Republican presidents alike have ordered military force without authorization for more than 75 years. Trump's Iran bombing follows that same pattern. No joint resolution, no Authorization for Use of Military Force, and no formal declaration of war was passed before Operation Epic Fury began. Trump acted entirely on his own executive authority as commander-in-chief.
Trump launched military strikes against Iran early Saturday and warned that the "lives of American heroes may be lost" in what he described as a "war," triggering a swift backlash from lawmakers over his decision to attack without congressional authorization. The word "war" coming from Trump's own mouth while bypassing Congress sharpened the constitutional outrage among lawmakers in both parties.
The Khanna-Massie Resolution: A Bipartisan Effort That Came Too Late
Before the bombs fell, a bipartisan group of lawmakers was already fighting to force a vote. Representatives Ro Khanna of California and Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced a War Powers Resolution that would compel the administration to seek congressional approval before engaging in any further military activity in Iran. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced Democrats would force a vote on the resolution as soon as Congress reconvenes.
Yet Congress has a long history of ceding its war powers to the president, and that streak has extended into Trump's second term. Last summer, after Trump launched strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, Senate Republicans blocked a bipartisan resolution limiting Trump's use of force in that country. The House pursued similar measures, with the same result. The pattern — strike first, block the vote second — repeated itself exactly on Saturday.
Republicans Are Divided, Democrats Are Furious
The reaction on Capitol Hill is not a clean partisan split. The memory of America's decades of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan has left many lawmakers wary. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters the American people "understand that under no circumstances should the Trump administration get us into another failed, foreign forever war when we know the outcome, particularly in the Middle East." He added bluntly: "It's going to cost American lives."
But not every Democrat agrees. Pennsylvania's Democratic Senator John Fetterman praised the Saturday morning operation, writing: "President Trump has been willing to do what's right and necessary to produce real peace in the region." On the Republican side, Senator Lindsey Graham called the strikes "necessary and long justified," while anti-interventionist Republicans like Massie and Warren Davidson demanded classified briefings before taking any position.
Why Congress Avoided Voting on War With Iran — The Real Reason
The most damning explanation for Congress's inaction is not procedural — it is political. The opposition to the vote seems to be more about how members of Congress who are supportive of a war with Iran don't want their support to be in the congressional record. One political strategist explained that members learned from the Iraq War that it was better for their political futures to cede their constitutional power to the president than to take a vote on a war they support. "They don't want to go on the record supporting a war with Iran because they saw what happened to pretty much everyone who went on the record supporting a war with Iraq."
Massie captured the absurdity precisely: "If you bring it before they strike, they say, 'Oh, it's premature.' And if you bring it after they strike they say, 'Oh, it's too late.' There's never a time that's good enough for these folks." The result is a Congress that holds the sole constitutional authority to declare war — and consistently refuses to use it.
The War Powers Resolution: The 60-Day Clock Is Now Ticking
In 1973, amid the Vietnam War, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution to reassert its authority. That joint resolution requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of military action and bars the deployment of armed forces for more than 60 days without congressional permission. Trump's 48-hour notification clock started ticking Saturday morning ET.
The Senate War Powers Resolution introduced by Kaine would mandate the president "remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force." Even if both chambers pass the resolution this week, Trump is widely expected to veto it — and without a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers to override, Congress cannot stop the war it never started.
What Comes Next: Votes, Vetoes, and a Constitutional Crisis
Senator Adam Schiff declared: "Donald Trump has once again deployed massive amounts of American firepower abroad without Congressional approval to use military force. Congress must reassert its war powers, or it risks losing them for good." Both chambers are expected to hold War Powers votes the week of March 2 when Congress reconvenes.
The Iran resolution appears to have less support than the Venezuela war powers vote, which failed in the House by the thinnest possible margin of 215 to 215. At least two House Democrats — Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Jared Moskowitz of Florida — have already come out against the resolution, citing Iran's support for terrorist groups and nuclear ambitions as reasons Trump should retain broad discretion to act with force. The constitutional question of who holds the power to take America to war remains as unresolved today as it was in 1973 — and a multiday bombing campaign in Iran is now unfolding with no congressional mandate behind it.
