There was a time when Congress took its constitutional prerogatives seriously. Today, it is at best a cheerleader for President Trump — never more so than when he acted alone last week to take the nation to war.

Whatever the merits of the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities — and the jury is still out on whether it achieved its purpose — there should be no doubt that Trump exceeded his authority in taking the nation to war without congressional approval.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dismissed the charge that the president acted unconstitutionally, citing his Article II commander in chief authority. That may sound plausible to the uninformed, but it is a gross misreading of the Constitution.

When the Founders considered this issue in Philadelphia in 1787, the original language in Article I was “Congress shall make war.” The delegate from Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, suggested that the word “make” be changed to “declare.”

Gerry argued that the president should be allowed to “repel a sudden attack on the United States,” thus the word “make” was too restrictive.

This may sound like a debate reserved for a class in constitutional law, but in the early 1970s, Congress held many hearings as members considered the language of the War Powers Act. That law makes it clear that Trump should have consulted Congress and sought its authority before going to war with Iran.

There is no question that Congress has allowed its war powers to erode in the past several decades. American forces have been deployed around the world and the president has a legitimate responsibility to protect them. In addition, after 9/11, a broad

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