As Trump Ignores War Powers Votes, Groups Urge Congress to Sue to End Illegal Iran Assault

The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a new war powers resolution aimed at forcing President Donald Trump to halt his illegal war with Iran without congressional authorization.

But with Trump showing every indication that he plans to escalate his unlawful assault on Iran despite lawmakers’ repeated expressions of disapproval, a large coalition of organizations is urging Congress to take more aggressive steps to end the war.

In a letter sent to members of Congress, the groups—including civil liberties, human rights, good governance, faith-based, anti-war, Iranian-American, veteran, and military family organizations—said that it was time to take the administration to court to "reaffirm Congress’s constitutional prerogatives" over the power to declare war.

The groups noted that the US Constitution explicitly gives the legislative branch war declaration powers, adding that the 1973 War Powers Act reasserted congressional control over decisions to commit American armed forces to combat in the wake of the Vietnam War.

Given that the Trump administration has blown off past war powers resolutions, the groups said, members of Congress should team up with "experienced constitutional litigators" to enforce the law.

"This may include helping to identify appropriate plaintiffs," the groups explained, "advancing House and Senate resolutions to explicitly authorize congressional litigation over the unlawful Iran War, or, in the House, calling for a vote of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to authorize litigation."

The groups also urged lawmakers to deny Trump's request for an additional $87.6 billion in supplemental war funding and then enact legislation "to bar the administration from using funds to continue" the war.

"Congress has already directed the removal of US armed forces under the War Powers Act, and the president must comply," the groups concluded. "Our democracy, the American people, and particularly US servicemembers deserve a Congress that will fight for the rule of law and an end to the unauthorized Iran war."

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), ranking member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, indicated while talking with reporters outside the US Capitol on Thursday that he was prepared to take legal action to enforce the will of Congress to end the war.

"We should be suing the administration for not following the... privileged resolution that was passed in both the House and the Senate," said Meeks. "When we get back next week, I'm going to force a vote on that, so that we can now go to the courts and sue the administration for not following the will of Congress."

Shortly after Meeks' remarks to reporters, the New York Democrat filed a resolution that would require House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to "initiate or intervene in litigation" to enforce the war powers resolution.

In an interview with Axios published Thursday, Trump said that he was "close" to making a decision on whether to authorize what he described as a "massive attack" on Iran that he vowed would be "bigger than ever before."

Cavan Kharrazian, senior policy adviser at Demand Progress, which co-led the coalition letter, accused Trump of "insulting Congress, the Constitution, and the American people" with his defiance.

“Congress already voted to reassert its constitutional role as the arbiter of war," said Kharrazian, "now they must follow through by using every single tool they have to ensure that the president complies with the law."