Congress Fears Being ‘Left in the Dark’ On Possible Iran Strike

Hegseth Pronounces ‘Weakness’ and ‘Wokeness’ Dead in US Military

PoliticsSocietyCommentary

Britain’s Islamic Bloc Vote Warning. America, Take Note.

Virginia School Board Settles With Boys Punished Over Locker Room Dispute

Most Americans Back Trump’s Deportation Goals, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

Courts Split on Role IRS Can Play in Immigration Enforcement, Data Sharing

9-0 SCOTUS Ruling Could Trigger Wave of ICE Detention Lawsuits

Biden-Appointed Judge’s Blistering Rebuke Could Change Trump’s Deportation Strategy

 InternationalCommentary

Cracking Down on China’s Trade Cheating the Right Way

Time for Denmark and the United States to Secure Greenland

Daughter Pleads for Father’s Release From Chinese Prison 

What to Expect in PLA Activities Near Taiwan Leading Up to Trump and Xi Summit

Congress Fears Being ‘Left in the Dark’ On Possible Iran Strike

Senate Mardi Gras Dog Parade Draws Backlash

Texas Primaries Reach Boiling Point With Help of Vicious Attack Ads

Will Congress Pass a Stock Trading Ban After SOTU?

Ohio Voters Send a ‘Clear Message’ With Support for SAVE America Act Provisions

Trump Calls on Senate to Pass SAVE America Act

What Supermajorities of Likely Voters in Battleground States Say About SAVE America Act

More States Moving to Close Election Funding Loophole Few Voters Knew Existed

‘War Was Visited Upon These People’: Play About Oct. 7 Comes to DC

Are Americans Being Radicalized Online and Converting to Islam?

International Analysis

Why Is the Iran Regime on the Verge of Collapse?

Trump Envoy Announces Next Phase of Gaza Peace Plan 

Meet the People Fueling Chaos in Minneapolis, New York, and Beyond 

OH BABY! Couples Could Make Big Money on Trump Accounts

What Comes Next for Venezuela? State Department Official Explains

ICE Operations: What Americans Actually Want  

What Susan Rice Really Meant by Her Retribution Threat

Health Care Commentary

Victor Davis Hanson: Cancer Update, ‘Your Prayers Work, Folks’

Preventive or Preemptive? The Pros and Cons of a Potential US Strike on Iran

‘You Owe Us’ Is the Mantra of the Left

Congress Fears Being ‘Left in the Dark’ On Possible Iran Strike

A mobile billboard sponsored by Win Without War. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Win Without War)

Pedro Boccalato Rodriguez-Aparicio is a journalism fellow at The Daily Signal. Send an email to Pedro.

With the large-scale military buildup in the Middle East, President Donald Trump could take action against Iran at any moment. But on Capitol Hill, lawmakers and staffers are voicing concern that Congress will be cut out of critical developments.

“We have a big decision to make,” Trump told supporters during a Friday rally in Texas. “I’d rather do it the peaceful way. But they’re very difficult people.”

Representatives from Iran and the United States met in Geneva this week and are expected to reconvene in Vienna next week. Trump said he was “not happy” with the lack of progress, leading some Capitol Hill observers to question what might come next.

Will Congress Be ‘Left in the Dark’?

A Republican staffer, granted anonymity to speak candidly, told The Daily Signal that he “would not be surprised if Congress were left in the dark” by the president.

“It is my understanding that this is certainly what will happen if Trump were to engage with Iran,” added another Republican congressional staffer.

The staffers’ remarks come after a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Rep. Rho Kanna, D-Calif., introduced a war powers resolution last June requiring Congress to authorize any act of war against Iran.

Recently, tensions between Iran and the United States reaching a boiling point, prompting the lawmakers to press for a vote on their resolution next week.

“We don’t need to be doing it,” Massie said, as reported on by The Hill. “We took out their nuclear capability, and we don’t need a long and protracted war in the Middle East.

“This is not ‘America First,’” Massie added.

Khanna wrote on X that Trump “can’t [strike Iran] without Congress.”

Trump officials say there's a 90% chance of strikes on Iran. He can’t without Congress. @RepThomasMassie & I have a War Powers Resolution to debate & vote on war before putting U.S. troops in harm’s way. I will make a motion to discharge to force a vote on it next week. https://t.co/FWQ245D6B8— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) February 18, 2026

Trump officials say there's a 90% chance of strikes on Iran. He can’t without Congress. @RepThomasMassie & I have a War Powers Resolution to debate & vote on war before putting U.S. troops in harm’s way. I will make a motion to discharge to force a vote on it next week. https://t.co/FWQ245D6B8

Massie and Khanna, the pair of lawmakers who headed up efforts to force a release of the Epstein files, did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.

Last June, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced a similar effort in the Senate, adding that “the American people” have “no interest” in participating in another Middle East war.

“This resolution will ensure that if we decide to place our nation’s men and women in uniform into harm’s way, we will have a debate and vote on it in Congress,” Kaine said at the time.

A Republican congressional staffer who works on defense policy told The Daily Signal said he would not be surprised if Trump took action against the Iranian regime ahead of a vote on the resolution.

“With everything going on, I will not rule out action against Iran before the Dems get a chance to act on their resolution,” he stated.

On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X that he designated Iran as a state sponsor of wrongful detention for their detainment of “innocent Americans and citizens of other nations for political leverage.”

War Powers Effort Meant to ‘Sabotage’ Trump Administration

Others on Capitol Hill believe the resolution is an attempt to undermine the Trump administration.

A senior Republican staffer told The Daily Signal that he believes the effort to require the president to brief Congress before conducting a strike on Iran would “sabotage” the administration.

“President Trump has kept all options on the table pending the outcome of negotiations with Iran, and Republicans have no reason to join Democrats in pre-emptive sabotage of his efforts before any armed conflict has even started,” he told The Daily Signal.

Another Republican congressional staffer told The Daily Signal that congressional Republicans “trust” Trump and Rubio’s decisions when it comes to deterring America’s enemies, and GOP lawmakers would support the president’s actions, whatever they may be.

Lawmakers such as Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., said in a statement on Wednesday that they “respect and defend Congress’s constitutional role in matters of war,” but believe “this resolution would restrict the flexibility needed to respond to real and evolving threats and risks, signaling weakness at a dangerous moment.”

Congress Getting More Assertive on War Powers

This is only the latest effort by Congress to assert its authority with the Trump administration.

In September, Democrat lawmakers introduced a war powers resolution to curb the Trump administration’s strikes against suspected drug cartel votes.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who supported the resolution, questioned the “ethical, moral or legal code” of some of the strikes, calling on Congress to “get to the bottom” of it.

At the time, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said that he didn’t know “whether the administration knows their [narcotraffickers on narcotrafficking boats] identities,” and suggested the administration killed “people who were not engaged in trafficking.”

Kaine added that “Congress simply cannot let itself be stiff-armed as this Administration continues to flout the law,” leading him to introduce the legislation along with Schiff to ensure that there is a “debate and vote on whether the U.S. should be conducting these strikes without congressional approval.”

House to Vote on Trump’s War Powers

Current Florida Congressional Map Violates Constitution, Republican Says

Indiana Lawmaker Weighs in on Redistricting Bill

Read the first chapter of The Woketopus right now for FREE

Today, even with President Trump’s victory, leftist elites have their tentacles in every aspect of our government.

The Daily Signal’s own Tyler O’Neil exposes this leftist cabal in his new book, The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government.

In this book, O’Neil reveals how the Left’s NGO apparatus pursues its woke agenda, maneuvering like an octopus by circumventing Congress and entrenching its interests in the federal government.

You can read the first chapter of this new book for FREE in this eBook, The Woketopus: Chapter One using the secure link below.

The Tony Kinnett Cast

The Daily Signal Podcast

© 2025 The Daily Signal Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

We use cookies on our website. By using our website, you consent to cookies.  Learn More .  

© The Daily Signal