Trump must be held to account for Iran, but don’t expect Congress to act

If the Constitution were working as designed, and if both political parties acted in the best interests of the nation and weren’t obsessed with eviscerating the disloyal opposition, the U.S. skirmish against Iran would have ended. Having promised an immediate victory in what Commander in Chief Donald Trump first called an “excursion,” the U.S. has been drawn deeper into what increasingly appears to be an unwinnable quagmire.  

So, make no mistake: This is war. But in a war, who has the power to authorize or make a formal declaration of war? Not the president. Only Congress has this responsibility. And it has deserted and fled from its duty.

The Vietnam disaster forced Congress to pass the War Powers Resolution in 1973 overwhelmingly over President Richard Nixon’s veto. The law is explicit. When ordering the U.S. military into combat, the president has 48 hours to inform Congress. Then after 60 days, without an extension, if Congress has not approved the operation — as it did in the 2003 Authorization to Use Military Force against Iraq — U.S. forces must be withdrawn. Of course, the president can veto that resolution. Then, as in the Vietnam conflict, Congress can cut off funding to end U.S. military engagement.

Congress’s first run at passing the War Powers Resolution for Iran in June failed to muster enough votes. On Thursday, the House approved another War Powers Resolution by a 214-208 margin, which was rejected by the Senate hours later in a 47-49 vote.

Even if the resolution passed, it........

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