No War With Iran (UPDATED 4/16)

Updates

April 16, 2026: The House has voted down war powers resolution H.Con.Res. 40 by a 213-214 vote. Rep. Massie (R-KY), voted Yes with Democrats while Rep. Golden (D-ME) voted No with Republicans.

April 15, 2026: The Senate failed to pass war powers resolution S.J.Res 123 by a vote of 47-52.

April 14, 2026: House and Senate Democrats have introduced new war powers resolutions to rein in the Trump administration’s military action against Iran. Floor votes in both chambers are expected this week.

April 8, 2026: Trump has backed off from his genocidal threats and announced a two-week ceasefire between the US, Iran, and Israel. However, political leaders from both Iran and Israel have accused each other of ceasefire violations, and damage has been done to global economies and security. Congress must still hold Trump accountable for his reckless war and behavior.

April 7, 2026: Trump has openly threatened to obliterate “a whole civilization” if Iran does not agree to a deal. Given these repeated, genocidal threats, Congress must return from recess and use every tool it can to stop Trump from committing war crimes and unilaterally launching a nuclear war.

On February 28th, Trump partnered with Israel to launch “major combat operations” in Iran, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and drawing several other countries into armed conflict. Both chambers of Congress introduced resolutions to restrict Trump’s power over this illegal and unwanted “war of choice”, but both resolutions were voted down. The failed resolutions would have reaffirmed Congress’s sole authority to declare war as is established in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, which Trump blatantly ignored when he unilaterally engaged our military without congressional authorization.

Though Trump continues to change his flimsy rationale as to why he attacked Iran, he and his cabinet members have bragged about their success in what they have continually referred to as a “war.” Even so, many Republicans in Congress have argued over semantics, suggesting Trump hasn’t violated the Constitution by “declaring war” in spite of the deaths of hundreds by airstrikes in Iran and surrounding countries, the torpedoing of over twenty Iranian ships in international waters, the use of new forms of AI warfare, and the deaths of US service members in the conflict.

Trump has not given any clear end date for the war or provided a plan for moving forward, only ominously claiming he will do “whatever it takes.” Lawmakers anticipate that Trump will soon seek emergency funding—despite the billions already spent on military operations in Iran in the face of countless devastating domestic budget cuts—and experts fear the ill-defined rationale for bombing Iran will lead to another “forever war.”

Congress cannot allow Trump to start and exploit devastating geopolitical conflicts for his own benefit. Call your representatives and tell them to assert their constitutional authority over this unjustified and unnecessary war of choice.