Democrats’ Vitriol Over Trump’s Iran Strikes Overlooks His Constitutional Authority

The United States Senate’s resolution aiming to handcuff President Trump, barring him from taking additional military action against Iran, should be soundly rejected: It’s an unconstitutional violation of Article II, which makes the president commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces.Every president since 1950 has launched military operations against foreign governments, without seeking Congress’ permission or a declaration of war.Yet Mr. Trump’s strategic air attack on Iran Saturday is evoking a torrent of vitriol from Democrats in Congress.They’re calling him “an authoritarian ruler” and claiming the strikes are a “gross violation of the Constitution” because Mr. Trump did not ask Congress for a declaration of war first.Nonsense.These Democrats are knowingly lying to the public — and impairing Mr. Trump’s stature abroad.The United States has not declared war since 1942, when the nation was embroiled in World War II.Since then, President Truman ordered air and naval forces to South Korea in 1950.And President Lyndon Johnson sent troops to Vietnam in 1965.And President Clinton took military action in 1999 to stop mass-murdering Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic.And President George W. Bush dispatched troops to Iraq in 2003 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom to topple Saddam Hussein.And Presdient Obama deployed the military to take out Libyan autocrat Muammar Gaddafi.Members of the opposition party often objected to those choices — though not with the degrading ad hominem attacks Democrats are hurling at Trump.Congress has tried to rein in this presidential power.In 1973, at the tail end of the Vietnam War, it passed the War Powers Resolution, which requires the president to notify Congress before military action begins, and requires a presidential report to Congress within 48 hours of troop deployment.The president then has 60 days to finish the action or to secure congressional authorization for the operation.So far, Mr. Trump appears to be complying with the resolution.He notified congressional leaders just before the strike began and has kept them briefed as it continues.Yet he doesn’t have to: As Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday, every president since 1973 has disputed the WPR’s constitutionality.When Mr. Clinton defied the WPR to take military action in Kosovo, and when Mr. Obama brushed it aside to go into Libya, members of Congress sued — and lost in court both times.That means there’s no constitutional precedent for handcuffing the commander in chief as congressional Democrats demand.An old-timer, Representative Nancy Pelosi, who was on the scene for the Clinton and Obama military forays, knows that Mr. Trump is on firm ground.Yet she lashed out on social media after the Iran strike, claiming he “ignored the Constitution.”The hypocrisy and malice are stunning.Yet it’s no surprise — the Israel-loathing Left is taking over the Democratic Party.Even as Mayor Zohran Mamdani is vilifying his texting buddy for killing Ali Khamenei, Iranians at New York (and London, Los Angeles, and around the world) are dancing with joy in the streets.Listen to the Iranians, not the partisan politicians.As for the rhetorical attacks dominating the news, these mislead the public about what the Constitution requires.Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, accuses Mr. Trump of being “a would-be dictator” who “cares nothing about our sacred Constitution.”Yet the Constitution’s framers wanted a commander in chief empowered to act with “secrecy” and “despatch,” as Alexander Hamilton wrote in 70 Federalist.The framers gave Congress the authority to “declare war” only after considering, but rejecting, broader language that would have given it the power to “make war.”That more general power should belong to the president, framers Elbridge Gerry and James Madison explained.And it does.Yet Mr. Murphy, who has been in Congress since 2007 and witnessed firsthand presidents from both parties calling the shots on military interventions, raged this week that “it’s clear as day” the president is violating the Constitution.Wrong.What’s “clear as day” is that partisan critics would rather resort to lies and demean the United States on the world stage than give Mr. Trump credit for ridding the world of a nuclear threat and leading fomenter of murderous terrorism.Creators.com

Democrats’ Vitriol Over Trump’s Iran Strikes Overlooks His Constitutional Authority

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