Stating that yesterday’s classified briefing on the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani failed to convince him of a “true strategy or legal justification” for the U.S. action, Santa Barbara Representative Salud Carbajal voted today to limit President Trump’s ability to authorize military actions against Iran. He was among 224 Congressmembers — 220 Democrats, three Republicans, and the chamber's sole Independent — who invoked the War Powers Act, a resolution that dates to the Vietnam War and requires a president to consult with Congress within 48 hours committing troops to a foreign conflict. It further requires troop withdrawal within 60 days unless Congress authorizes the use of force. The U.S. Constitution reserves to Congress the power to declare war.
“I was a part of the administration’s classified briefing to Congress yesterday,” Carbajal stated in a press release. “It only strengthened my belief that President Trump did not have a true strategy or legal justification for his recent actions regarding Iran, and that Congress must step in and assert our constitutional authority.”
After the briefing, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) erupted to the gathered press corps that the administration wouldn’t agree to any scenario in which the president had to consult with Congress before engaging in further hostilities against Iran, including possibly orchestrating the death of its Supreme Leader.