Colette Potter ‘26
Opinions Editor
The current war on Iran is a culmination of Congress ceding power to the executive branch. I attended the Constitution Day lecture at Holy Cross a few months ago, where Philip Wallach, Congress Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, presented his work on the waning power of Congress and its implications. Wallach argued that almost all governments have a legislative branch – even countries with very little democratic process like China – and that it is a huge risk for the legislative branch to cede power to the executive. Doing so is quite literally reducing our representative power. It also gives more power to the president, a singular person. President Trump, who, to put it kindly, pushes the envelope on a good day, is using former increases of executive power and pushing them further on a number of issues, from tariffs to now war declaration. This Iranian war on a whim, which is the result of a singular person having the full power to bomb a foreign country without an imminent threat, is an act of war. War powers should go back to Congress.
There was a Congressional initiative directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran (H.Con.Res.38) that was rejected in both the House and the Senate late last week. This is highly troubling, as it removes the ability for Congress, with input from constituents, to agree to this war. For example, neither of my senators, including one Democrat and one Republican, voted for this war powers act. By rejecting this bill, my senators did not reclaim the power of war as granted by the Constitution. In rejecting this resolution, constituents like me lose the ability to communicate with senators and representatives before a vote on the war is allowed to continue. Congress, in rejecting this war powers resolution, does not only give up its own power but the people’s power itself.
This situation is worsened by the fact that there was no immediate threat. This is a different situation than the War on Terror. There was no attack on American soil. This creates a dangerous precedent. Republicans should also be aware of this precedent – a Democratic president in the future could do the same. Republicans in Congress are shortsighted and often fail to consider the long-term implications of their actions. I can also guarantee that if a Democrat were in the Oval Office consolidating power the way President Trump is, Congressional Republicans would not be happy.
This Iranian war is worsened by previous executive power consolidation and decisions by the Trump Administration. The division of the Pentagon that tracks civilian locations versus military targets was reduced – creating the circumstances for the Minrab elementary school bombing that left 170+ dead (Sources: NYT, AP News). The State Department was reduced, leading to Americans in the Middle East having a difficult time getting out (Source: CNN). Countries without prior knowledge of this bombing, unlike the Americans, and with much fewer resources, were able to quickly and effectively evacuate the area. The lack of concern for American citizens abroad is both disheartening and unacceptable. The Trump Administration’s government reductions are creating larger messes. It is an example of previous executive power consolidation (i.e. DOGE and huge reductions to certain portions of the government) compiling into a disaster largely created without true representative power backing up these decisions.
Lastly, wars have a high cost. Estimates for the cost of the war range from a little under a billion to over two billion a day (Sources: Reuters CNN). That is a staggering amount of money. We have plenty of domestic issues to solve – homelessness, poverty, health crises, etc. – that was supposed to be the point of America First. While I don’t agree with defunding USAID or other similar initiatives to reduce humanitarian aid abroad, I understood the sentiment of the message. The U.S. needs to focus on its own problems, and should take the prospect of war seriously. The lack of Congressional approval, which diminishes our own representative power, creates this problem. Congress should be involved with this war. The American people should have a say in this war. Our Constitution, the defining document of our Republic, divides power – the President is the Commander-in-Chief and Congress has the ability to declare war – yet the current war defies this, and the Constitution we hold so dear. War is a serious matter, and that power should be divided, and this separation upheld.
Copy edited by Sophia Mariani ’26
Featured image courtesy of NPR
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