After the attack on Iran, a debate has erupted in America on the military powers of the President. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war, but the President is commander-in-chief. Republicans are in favor of the attack, while Democrats are opposed.
New York: Did Donald Trump need permission from the US Congress to attack Iran? After the attack on Iran in collaboration with Israel, the same question is now being raised from every side. In a video released after the attack, Trump himself described it as a ‘major military action’. According to Article 1 of the US Constitution, only Congress (US Parliament) has the right to officially declare war against any country. But this time Congress has not made any such announcement.
However, the US Constitution also gives the President considerable authority to take military action. For this reason, a big debate has erupted on this matter in Washington. Opinion of leaders is divided regarding this attack in the US Parliament ‘Capitol Hill’. Most of the members of the Republican Party, which currently controls both houses of Congress, are supporting the attack.
Republican Party’s House Speaker Mike Johnson says that the Trump administration had informed the ‘Gang of 8’ before the attack. ‘Gang of 8’ is a group of top leaders of Congress. At the same time, most of the leaders of the Democratic Party have condemned this attack. Democrats allege that Trump has started the war without Congress’s permission. They are demanding that Congress reconsider bills like the ‘War Powers Resolution’, which failed without Republican support last year.
If the ‘War Powers Resolution’ is reintroduced and passed, it could prevent the President from taking unilateral military action without Congressional approval. But in the current situation, there is little hope of such a bill being passed. In America, the distribution of powers according to the Constitution is something like this: Article 1 gives Congress the right to declare war and release funds for the army. Whereas, under Article 2, the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. The President has the authority to protect the country from sudden attacks and take decisions regarding military action in emergency. The line between these two rights often becomes a cause of controversy.
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