Missouri lawmakers respond to joint attack on Iran
Alison Patton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
President Donald Trump announced the joint U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran early Saturday morning, just a few days before Congress was set to debate and vote on military action in Iran, according to CNN.
Some lawmakers are upset that Trump would engage in what he called “major combat operations” without congressional consent.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) acknowledged that Iran is a bad actor, repressive and a threat to the U.S., in a press release but said Congress has to give the OK.
“However, President Trump has not made the case to Congress or the American people that there is an urgent threat to America and that they have a coherent strategy to achieve their goals. Our founding fathers in Article I of the Constitution gave Congress the sole authority to go to war,” Cleaver wrote.
But declaring war might not be possible.
“I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that Congress declares war,” political science professor at the University of Missouri Charles Zug said. “The president doesn’t really have any incentive to ask Congress to declare war because if the president can do basically what he wants without congressional involvement, why invite Congress to be a part of it?”
There is some push from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to limit the president’s power to engage in conflicts without the consent of Congress, according to CNN. But that legislation won’t go up for a vote until later this week.
Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) has already expressed his support for Trump’s military action.
“I want to be clear about one thing: the United States did not start this fight, but we will finish it,” Alford said in a video. “I’m proud that we finally have a president behind the resolute desk who is holding this terrorist regime accountable.”
Iran installed a new regime in 1979, and it has been “anti-American and anti-Israeli” since, Zug said. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have also been rising since then, but U.S. foreign policy didn’t stay consistent.
Although, Trump’s recent attack, along with two others–one in 2020 that killed Qasem Soleimani in Iraq and a 2025 attempt to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities–have been the only conflicts, Zug said.