Trump once said Congress should “always” approve military strikes

At nearly 8 p.m ET Saturday, President Donald Trump delivered shocking news that would quickly rouse global angst about the threat of nuclear war. He did so on social media.

“A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” he thumbed out on Truth Social about three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites that U.S. military had, apparently, just attacked. “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Us lowly civilians across the country weren’t the only ones to learn of the military strike that evening; members of Congress were notified around the same time. In theory, that isn’t how it’s supposed to work: Presidents are expected to consult Congress before deploying armed forces, and—at least in the past—that was Trump’s position too.

In March 2015, when Trump was merely flirting with the idea of launching an aspirational bid for president, he told the New Hampshire Union Leader that presidents should “always” get Congressional approval to launch military action.

Reporter: “Under what circumstances would you think the president should be able to use military force without authorization from Congress?”

Trump: “I think we should always get authorization, and if something is right, you can get authorization and quickly. Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, they want to see this country survive and do well. And I think you should get authorization.”

His answer at the time reflected Article 1 of the Constitution, which says that Congress—and Congress alone—has the authority to declare war.

But the 1973 War Powers Resolution gives presidents some temporary wiggle room: It stipulates that, in situations where war hasn’t been declared, presidents must still notify Congress within 48 hours of military action, and provide rationale for why, and under which authority, the decision was made. (The resolution also says that military action not pre-authorized by Congress must end within 60 days.)

Many Democrats have expressed concern over Trump bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites without consulting—or even properly notifying—Congress. According to the Associated Press, lawmakers hadn’t received any new intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program since March, when Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the administration did not believe the country was building a nuclear weapon.

“Trump ran on no new wars, but now, mere months into his presidency,  he’s ignoring the will of the American people and tempting full escalation without congressional approval,” Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin said in a statement to Mother Jones. “To quote Donald Trump: ‘Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat … you should get authorization.’ Seems like the Trump Republican Party has forgotten that principle.”

After canceling an earlier briefing, the Trump administration says CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold a closed-door session with senators on Thursday; House members are slated to receive a similar briefing on Friday.

Like Trump, Rubio has previously boasted about the importance of Congress’ role in decisions on the use of military force. “You can’t put strategy in legislation, that’s up to the commander-in-chief working with military officials,” Rubio told a journalist in 2015. “We can certainly have oversight over the strategy, criticize it and not fund it if we think it’s wrong and so forth—but the most important role we play is whether or not to authorize it.”