New York Times: Trump Needs a Congressional Declaration of War to Attack Iran, AUMFs Not Sufficient

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There is no wiggle room.


https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/18/opinion/trump-iran-war-congress.html

"Mr. Trump has already spent days publicly contemplating whether to join Israel in the conflict. Dr. O’Connell compared the situation to the past decisions to go to war in Afghanistan in 2001 and against Iraq in 2003. In both cases, Congress passed a war authorization law.

Those laws granted the commander in chief sweeping powers to send troops into combat and launch military operations with few restrictions, putting the United States on an open-ended war footing ever since. It’s unclear what legal rationale the Trump White House would use if it does decide to take military action against Iran, but legal scholars are skeptical that current legislation is sufficient.

“He absolutely needs congressional authorization if he intends to use military force against Iran,” said Oona Hathaway, a former Pentagon lawyer and professor at Yale Law School. “That clearly would not fall within either of the existing A.U.M.F.s.”"
 
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