WASHINGTON — A group of lawmakers spanning a broad ideological spectrum is raising alarms about the possibility of the United States taking an active role in the conflict between Israel and Iran.
The emerging coalition unites strange bedfellows, including some of President Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters and progressive Democrats, who have been vocal opponents of U.S. involvement in foreign entanglements in the years following the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, particularly without congressional approval. It could also represent a serious threat to the stranglehold Trump holds over the hard-right base of the Republican Party.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a libertarian who has not been afraid to buck Trump on fiscal issues, is teaming up with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to attempt to force a vote on a war powers resolution that would require the administration to get approval from Congress before participating in the conflict in any meaningful way.
“This is not our war,” Massie wrote on X. “But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution.”
His announcement led to a flood of progressive Democrats to promise they would support the legislation, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, both members of “the squad.”
“The American people aren’t falling for it again. We were lied to about ‘weapons of mass destruction’ in Iraq that killed millions + forever changed lives,” Tlaib wrote on X. “It’s [unconstitutional] for Trump to go to war without a vote in Congress.”
Massie and Khanna also co-sponsored a similar resolution during the first Trump administration seeking to limit U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen. Trump did not sign the resolution, which passed the House and Senate, but ultimately backed off efforts for the U.S. military to take an active role.
In an interview with NBC News on Tuesday, Khanna predicted this issue may be the one where Trump loyalists have the resolve to break with the president.
“This is core to many in the MAGA base. It’s different,” Khanna said. “It has a different intensity than even the people who care about the deficits and are concerned about Trump’s move there, or people who don’t like his tariff policy.”
That intensity is reflected in the chorus of concern reverberating throughout the MAGA political orbit. High-profile commentators like Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon have warned Trump to avoid tangling the U.S. up in what they view as a conflict that could turn into another endless war. Trump responded by calling Carlson “kooky,” which led Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., one of Trump’s fiercest supporters on Capitol Hill, to rush to the former Fox News host’s defense.
Green called Carlson “one of her favorite people” in a post on X, before arguing that “foreign wars/intervention/regime change put America last, kill innocent people, are making us broke, and will ultimately lead to our destruction.”
Khanna said a non-interventionist posture was the foundation of Trump’s rise.
“I feel like the entire MAGA movement started as a rejection of the Bush and neocon war in Iraq. That was a central part of their identity,” Khanna said.
Khanna and Massie plan to introduce the measure as a privileged resolution, which would force a full House vote in a matter of days. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who is closely aligned with Trump, may have the option of revoking the privilege because it is a war powers resolution. Johnson’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the resolution.
If the resolution makes it to the House floor, Khanna acknowledged that the entire Democratic conference may not be on board.
“There’s still people in our Congress who voted for the war in Iraq. There are people who still have a very, more hawkish view on the Middle East,” Khanna said. “I think it’s a declining number.”
Across the Capitol, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is leading an effort to prohibit Trump from unilaterally getting the U.S. into a war with Iran, while making clear that “the question of whether United States forces should be engaged in hostilities against Iran” can only be answered by Congress.”
Kaine questioned whether U.S. involvement is in its national security interest and that the minimum prerequisite is a debate and approval from Congress.
“I am deeply concerned that the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran could quickly pull the United States into another endless conflict,” said Kaine. “The American people have no interest in sending service members to fight another forever war in the Middle East.”
In terms of getting co-sponsors for his new resolution, a Kaine spokesperson said, “Senator Kaine is in dialogue with colleagues.”
Kaine has credibility on the issue as an outspoken voice for reining in presidential war powers under administrations of both parties. He led an effort in the Biden administration to return that authority to Congress after years of lawmakers ceding it to the executive branch, garnering bipartisan support for that effort.
But past efforts have fallen prey to congressional malaise and run into opposition from military hawks in both parties, and early indications are that Senate Republican leaders want to support Israel.
“While the U.S. military is not involved in offensive operations against Iran, U.S. forces on land, at sea, and in the air have helped defend Israel from indiscriminate missile attacks launched by Iran,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday. “President Trump and our country remain steadfast in our defense of Israel and committed to working toward peace in the Middle East and, first and foremost, for the safety of American personnel stationed in the region.”
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