Members of Maine’s congressional delegation questioned President Donald Trump’s constitutional authority to strike Iran, with some calling for Congress to reassert its role in military decisions following Saturday’s attack.
Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Friday, before the action occurred, that Trump should only strike Iran as a “last resort” amid fraught negotiations over a potential nuclear deal.
“If we’re talking about a long-term engagement of American troops and boots on the ground, in my judgment, Congress has to approve that,” she said.
In a statement, Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King questioned whether Trump had the constitutional authority to order the strikes, saying the decision left him with several questions.
“The first is why hasn’t he made the case to the American people (and to their representatives in Congress) for such a major commitment of American forces, which could include troops on the ground?” King said.
King also questioned the timing of the strikes and asked what the endgame plan is now that “the goal has moved from elimination of Iran’s nuclear capacity to regime change.”
“As we have learned, toppling a despotic regime is only a first step; the hard question is what comes next and what will it take to ensure that the next regime is not worse than that which went before,” he said.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to reconvene Congress immediately to vote on a bipartisan war powers resolution. “The American people are still living with the consequences of wars launched without accountability or an endgame. We cannot repeat those mistakes,” Pingree said in a statement.
“Congress must reassert its constitutional authority, halt unauthorized military action, and make clear that no president — of either party — has the power to drag this nation into war alone,” she said.