President Trump has yet again circumvented the legislative branch as he orders American forces back into combat in the Middle East, weeks after both chambers of Congress rebuked him for waging war with Iran without authorization.<\/p>\n
The collapse of the cease-fire and resumption of hostilities has inflamed a debate on Capitol Hill over war powers just as the administration is seeking tens of billions of dollars to pay for the conflict.<\/p>\n
That has presented Republicans with a political worst-case scenario months before midterm elections in which their majorities are at stake: They are being asked to vote to fund an unpopular war over which they have had no meaningful oversight, and which they have never voted to approve.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe greatest fighting force on the planet, the last great superpower must be fully equipped, and that\u2019s the job of Congress to make sure it\u2019s done,\u201d Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN\u2019s Manu Raju last week at the Capitol. The administration last month requested $87.6 billion in supplemental funding that would include $67.1 billion in extra military spending this year.<\/p>\n
Asked whether it wasn\u2019t also the job of Congress to authorize the war, Mr. Johnson replied: \u201cWe\u2019re going to supply the needs for America\u2019s national security.\u201d<\/p>\n
The position amounts to the latest instance of Republicans ceding power to the executive branch, as they sidestep a debate over the conduct of the war and try to rally support within their ranks for a filibuster-proof, party-line bill to pay for it with no strings attached<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is all the more remarkable coming weeks after bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate voted to reassert Congress\u2019s constitutional role over matters of war<\/a>, a slap on Mr. Trump\u2019s wrist four months into a conflict that he had said would last a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n Democrats who worked for months to rally support for such a reproach have followed it up by refusing to allow consideration of the annual defense policy bill<\/a> or back legislation to fund the military. They have argued that Congress cannot separate its power of the purse from its constitutional authority over war, demanding that the administration share more information about its strategy and plan for the war before they consider voting to bankroll it.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the Republicans want our votes, they should provide a credible strategy,\u201d Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, said in an interview last week. \u201cHow long it lasts, where does it end, what our goals are. Very simple. They haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Even Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, voted with his party to block the defense policy measure, which he had supported in committee, over objections to the handling of the conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot vote to proceed to a bill that enables an ongoing war against Iran that Congress never authorized,\u201d Mr. Reed said.<\/p>\n Republicans, by contrast, have largely sidestepped the renewed war powers debate, many of them echoing Mr. Trump\u2019s justification for resuming the fight.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact of the matter is, President Trump is the first president dealing with what has been the status quo for decades \u2014 which is Iran attacking everybody\u2019s ships, everybody\u2019s navy, everybody\u2019s anything going through the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d Representative Brian Mast, the Florida Republican who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, said on Friday during an interview on Fox News. \u201cAfter this escalation from them, we are now the United States of America that says this is not going to be the status quo. It\u2019s going to change.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers are expected to get one of their first opportunities to publicly press administration officials on the resumption of fighting on Tuesday, when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee to defend the Pentagon\u2019s request for additional military funding this year.<\/p>\n