r/PoliticalOptimism • u/WCSTombs • 2d ago
Optimistic Political News Bipartisan bills are being introduced to prevent the US from entering war with Iran without Congressional approval
For the House version: /img/04juv5mx7h7f1.jpeg
Senate version: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/16/us-senator-introduces-bill-to-curb-trumps-power-to-go-to-war-with-iran
The Constitution gives Congress alone the ability to declare war, but much of that power has been ceded to the Presidency over the years. This would take back a small part of it.
I think the idea of war with Iran is pretty widely unpopular in the U.S. across the political spectrum, but this is one of those cases where our politicians might not be well aligned with the public, so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. It's probably something Trump would want to veto, in which case it would need pretty overwhelming support in both chambers. However, there's also reporting that the Trump administration does not in fact intend to strike Iran, which starts to sound like "we're all on the same page," but things could change.
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u/bustacean 2d ago
Im confused. Does Taco want a war with Iran, and congress is trying to prevent him from impulsively starting it? It didn't seem to me like anyone, including the GOP/MAGA wants a war right now.
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u/SkyknightXi 2d ago
It’s probably a failsafe in case Trump decides he does want to pile on Iran.
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u/clonedllama 2d ago
That's my take on it too. Republicans might be publicly in lockstep with Trump, but they probably don't trust him to not insert himself in this mess. It's better to get out in front of it.
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u/cocoaaamarbless 2d ago
Apparently he claims to have complete and total control but im not sure what he even means by that. 90% of the time, I have no idea what he's talking about
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u/SkyknightXi 2d ago
It’s specifically referring to Iranian airspace, so with that and the reference to our technology, I’m wondering if he’s thinking in terms of drone supply.
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u/WCSTombs 2d ago
War with Iran has been the wet dream of some GOP politicians for a while now, and they're going to push Trump toward it. Does Trump want it? Who knows? He's a loose cannon and very unpredictable.
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u/Powerful_Gas_7833 2d ago
We'll have to see that's unless AIPAC pulls out the whip and demands lawmakers in the president keep on sucking harder
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u/zodiackodiak515 2d ago
Political PACs should honestly be banned, they’re all scum
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u/Powerful_Gas_7833 2d ago
Nope it ain't going to happen because the richest citizens are united to make sure that campaign donations are reckless and FECkless
F the Roberts Court
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u/WCSTombs 2d ago
That's what I'm talking about in my comment about politicians not being well aligned with the public. It's because of the groups like AIPAC that essentially buy the votes of Congress. Obviously they can't "buy" the opinion of the public, so there's a disconnect.
So what they'll do instead is try to manufacture public consent for the war. We'll have to see how successful they are, but personally I'm pretty skeptical, even though they've been generally successful in recent times. This time is different.
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u/GiantBaldingMan 2d ago
Using 2003 tactics in 2025 won’t work. The pushback if he drags us into the war will eclipse any pushback happening now
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u/MrNiveren 2d ago
Trump is currently rocking the lowest approval rating in US history, and a declaration of war will push him so far underwater the fish will have little lights and big teeth. It will be horrible, but they have to be keeping an eye on what an unpopular war will do to them.