Trump shreds the Constitution to bomb Iran — stop this now

In a stunningly reckless act of aggression, the U.S. dropped bombs on three nuclear sites in Iran, formally entering and potentially drastically escalating Israel’s unprovoked war against Iran.

The airstrikes are flagrantly illegal — only Congress can authorize military action outside of imminent emergencies—and immediately risk a much wider war. 

Defending Rights & Dissent calls for the immediate end to unauthorized attacks on Iran. Congress must invoke the War Powers Act, to put a stop to Trump’s illegal war. Last week, after Trump threatened to attack Iran, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced resolutions in the House and Senate to invoke the Act and halt the war. 

Act now: tell your representatives to support these resolutions before Trump strikes again.

Lawmakers in both parties have called the bombing unconstitutional. 

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) responded to Trump’s bombing by stating “this is not Constitutional.” Rep. Marjorie Talyore Greene (R-GA), a key supporter of Trump’s stated, “This is not our fight. Peace is the answer.” 

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sean Casten (D-IL) have called for impeachment. Jim Himes (D-CT), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has called Trump’s actions “a clear violation of the Constitution,” and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has called for an immediate vote on the Iran War Powers Resolution, stating he will vote for it.

Republican leadership in the Congress is playing politics. They have supported the airstrikes, prioritizing defending Trump over peace and the Constitution. 

Trump has justified aggression on Iran by warning the country was on the precipice of producing and using nuclear weapons, directly contradicting the assessment of his own intelligence community just three months ago. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified in March that Iran was not enriching uranium at weapons levels and that it had not restarted efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon that were scuttled in 2003. She’s attempted to walk those comments back in recent days, without evidence. 

This latest crisis was entirely manufactured by Trump, who in 2018 withdrew the U.S. from an agreement struck by President Obama in 2015 to limit Iran’s nuclear program in return for relief from sanctions, and the attacks were executed in support of Israel, which has been at odds with Iran for decades and at war with the country for months. Trump accused Iran of violating the nonproliferation agreement even after the U.S. had withdrawn, and later pretended to negotiate a new deal. While Iran was considering the U.S. position, Israel conducted surprise attacks on Iranian military leaders and nuclear facilities, killing hundreds of civilians. Iran struck back, conducting drone strikes on Tel Aviv. And now Trump has bombed Iran directly, the first official U.S. involvement in a conflict it could have ended diplomatically long ago. 

Congress can stop this: Urge your reps to invoke the War Powers Act now.