While a bipartisan group of lawmakers readies a vote requiring President Donald Trump to cease military hostilities in Iran, House Speaker Mike Johnson is arguing that a primary tool to assert congressional involvement in war-making decisions is actually unconstitutional.
“Many respected constitutional experts argue that the War Powers Act is itself unconstitutional. I’m persuaded by that argument,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday morning. “They think it’s a violation of the Article II powers of the commander in chief. I think that’s right.”
That debate has gone unsettled since 1973, and it probably won’t be answered any time soon — unless lawmakers do pass an Iran war powers resolution in both chambers and the matter escalates to the Supreme Court.