An effort to limit the ability of the president to carry out sustained military action in Iran without approval of Congress is taking on new urgency after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes aimed at overthrowing the regime.
The strikes, which began early Saturday, were launched without congressional authorization. Article 1 of the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. Top Congressional Democrats and Republicans that make up a group known as the Gang of Eight — party leaders from both chambers, as well as the Intelligence committees’ leadership — were notified by the White House shortly before the attack.
