The Supreme Court May Legalize Donald Trump’s War on Iran
Donald Trump’s attack on Iran may set off a showdown over the president’s authority to declare war. The case could end up in court, giving conservative justices a long-awaited chance to end Congress’s ability to limit presidents’ warmaking powers.
President Donald Trump’s new war in Iran was launched without congressional authorization or proof of an imminent threat. The war could give conservative Supreme Court justices the opportunity to strike down the War Powers Resolution. (Chip Somodevilla / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
“Do you think the president has the authority to invade Iran tomorrow without getting permission from the people, from the United States Congress, absent him being able to show there is an immediate threat to our national security?”
As recounted in the Lever’s upcoming new season of the Master Plan podcast, this was the big question then-senator Joe Biden pressed Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito to answer during Alito’s nationally televised 2006 confirmation hearing almost exactly two decades before Donald Trump launched his new war in Iran.
“Well, that is a question that I don’t think is settled,” Alito responded. “The president has the power of the commander in chief. I think there has been general agreement, and (previous) cases support the authority of the president to take military action on his own in the case of an emergency, when there is not time for Congress to react.”
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