Democrats on Sunday deeply criticized President Donald Trump for appearing to declare his tweets would serve as enough notification for Congress if the US were to act militarily in response to an Iranian retaliation, a move that prompted the Democratic-led House Foreign Affairs Committee to tweet, “You’re not a dictator.”
The President earlier tweeted: “These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!”
Democrats reacted swiftly, citing The War Powers Act of 1973 which states that when existing US armed forces abroad are “substantially enlarge(d)” without a war declaration, “the President shall submit within 48 hours… a report, in writing” to the House Speaker, currently Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, and to the President pro tempore of the Senate, currently Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican.
The House Foreign Affairs committee shot back at Trump’s post in their own tweet Sunday night, stating, “This Media Post will serve as a reminder that war powers reside in the Congress under the United States Constitution. And that you should read the War Powers Act. And that you’re not a dictator.”
The tweet highlighted concerns voiced by other Democrats earlier Sunday.
One Democratic congressional aide told CNN that “War Powers and authorization to use military force are squarely and solely Congress’ purview.”
A second Democratic aide added: “The President has Article II authority to defend American assets/ personnel but this would seem to exceed that under traditional interpretations.”
And a third Democratic aide put it simply, “If (Barack) Obama said that the GOP would lose their minds.”
The Trump administration sent Congress a formal notification Saturday regarding the US drone strike this week that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, according to a top Democratic aide and a senior White House official.
White House officials told lawmakers on Friday the notification would be sent in accordance with the law. The notice must be sent within 48 hours of US forces entering into hostilities in accordance with the War Powers Act.
Trump’s Sunday tweet comes as Democratic lawmakers question whether Trump had the authority to order the strike without congressional approval and raise concerns that Iran’s potential response was not fully considered. The US is deploying about 2,800 additional soldiers to the Middle East – on top of the 750 from the same unit sent earlier in the week – as tensions with Iran mount.
Legal scholar Oona Hathaway weighed in Sunday with a series of tweets of her own.
“This tweet threatens to break several laws. First, the President cannot notify Congress under the War Powers Resolution by tweet,” she said.
The professor at Yale Law School and former special counsel at the Department of Defense went on to break down other violations she saw, including Trump’s assertion that legal notice is not required.
“That’s not true. Any time the president involves the armed forces into ‘hostilities,’ he must – at a minimum – notify Congress within 48 hours,” she tweeted.
Professor Anthony Arend of Georgetown University told CNN that the President’s use of Twitter for such a message was “ridiculous.”
“This is not something that any lawyer in my view condoned,” he quipped.
