When can a president attack another country?

The War Powers Act sets guidelines, but did President Trump follow them?

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On Saturday June 21st, President Trump authorized the bombing of multiple Iranian nuclear sites (Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz). According to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, it was a success. More than 125 U.S. aircrafts were involved in “Operation Midnight Hammer” including B2 stealth bombers, 4th and 5th generation fighter jets, and dozens of refueling tankers (ships) and a guided missile submarine. A total of fourteen 30,000 lb. ‘bunker busting’ (GBU-57 MOP) bombs were used (420,000 lbs. combined), marking the first time they’ve been used in combat.

A ‘bunker buster’ bomb.

On paper, hampering the nuclear capabilities of a country wishing ‘death’ to America and Israel (our closest regional ally) is a win. The problem, though, is also on paper: The Constitution and a federal law called The War Powers Act of 1973.

What does the Constitution say?

Congress has the sole power to “declare war” (Article I, Section 8, Clause 11) — but it hasn’t declared war since (**checks notes**) World War II (against Japan, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania). This means ‘wars’ like Vietnam and Iraq weren’t declared but ‘authorized’ by Congress, while others — like Korea and Bosnia — were neither declared nor authorized by Congress, but by the U.N. Security Council (of which the U.S. is a member). So Congress agreed to fund them.

TL;DR: Congress has authorized and/or funded several wars and military actions without declaring war. And they’ve transferred power to the president — the “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States” (Article II, Section 2, Clause 1) — through the War Powers Act. (You can find it here — it’s not long.)

So…were President Trump’s actions in Iran constitutional and/or illegal?

Congress can “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper” (Article I, Section 8, Clause 13) to carry out its powers, including declaring war. The War Powers Act, passed in 1973 during the Vietnam War, was intended to constrain presidential power by a) requiring the president report his military actions to Congress, and b) limiting the amount of time for those actions to 60 days (90 including troop withdrawals) unless Congress authorizes the action(s) further. President Nixon actually vetoed the bill but Congress overrode his veto (with a 2/3 vote in the House AND Senate), making it law.

But a check on presidential power in 1973 can be viewed today as an expansion. The law lets the president introduce U.S. armed forces “into the territory, airspace or waters of a foreign nation, while equipped for combat” without prior congressional authorization if the president notifies Congress (the speaker of the House and Senate president pro tempore) within 48 hours after introducing the forces. The president may do this only (absent a declaration of war or congressional authorization) if there’s “a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.”

There has not been a direct Iranian attack on the U.S., its territories, or its possessions — but Iran has attacked U.S. troops and military bases abroad, directly and through proxy armies (Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis) over a period of 40+ years (most recently in the wake of October 7th). According to President Trump last night, more than a thousand U.S. service members have died from those attacks.

So do those varied attacks amount to a national emergency?

Well, Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon would mean the potential to use on Israel. Depending on how close they are (or were), that may be a national emergency (though Iran has been said to be close to nukes for decades) — but is that an ‘attack’?

At the very least, Iran may now retaliate against American troops — there are 40,000 of them stationed in the region. And Iran has already launched missiles at Tel Aviv in response. Plus the Houthis have announced their intent to further retaliate.

According to the Trump administration, they did follow the War Powers Act, making their actions constitutional and legal in their eyes. Neither President Trump, nor anyone in his administration, has declared war on Iran. They believe Iranian attacks on U.S. service members over the years justify the War Power Act. Plus they believe a nuclear Iran amounts to a ‘national emergency’.

Trump is not the first president to invoke the War Powers Act. It has been used many times — controversially — by presidents of both parties. If the president is believed to have violated the Constitution (or the War Powers Act), the only people who can hold him accountable are Congress and the Supreme Court. But we’ve seen President Trump is potentially willing to ignore a Supreme Court decision — plus the Court has no real ability to enforce its decision (if ignored) on a sitting president. That leaves Congress — and the only real tool they have is impeachment and removal. This has happened only eight times in American history, all on lower-level federal judges.

So Congress’s main check on presidential power has never been used (though four presidential impeachments have occured without removal — Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump 2x).

When presidents can a) initiate military action(s) without congressional approval, b) effectively ignore the Supreme Court (if it finds those actions unconstitutional or illegal), and c) operate knowing the odds of Congress holding them accountable (via removal) are near-zero, then my larger point holds true:

Given the latitude that a president and his administration have, it very much matters who the president is.

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