July 28, 2025
Congressional approval for military actions: A constitutional requirement?
By Brooke Taylor
Operation Midnight Hammer, the largest stealth bomber strike in history, caused monumental damage to Iranian nuclear facilities. The Trump Administration’s decisions have led to speculation about the requirement of the United States’ congressional approval preceding these military strikes.
The United States’ three distinct branches (executive, legislative, and judicial) of government have various oversight and operational structures. The legislative branch, comprised of the Senate and House of Representatives, contains specific authority that authorizes requirements and appropriates resources for the United States Department of Defense. In addition, the Constitution distinguishes and provides Congress the authority to “declare war” and not to “make war.”
Throughout the history of American foreign policy, it has been the long-held tradition that neither the President nor Congress acts under the belief that the Constitution requires a declaration of war from Congress before the military can conduct actions in defense or offense against hostilities, threats, or attack. The Obama Administration, for example, dropped 26,172 bombs in 2016 (without a congressional declaration of war) in Libya, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, and Syria.
President Trump’s leadership in conducting the airstrikes against Iranian facilities acted within the United States’ Constitutional authority and military chain of command. The Joint Chiefs of Staff work in an advisory capacity to the President, providing strategic guidance that impacts defense requirements and operations for the military, through the appropriate channels to the Commander-in-Chief.
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https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/07/congressional_approval_for_military_actions_a_constitutional_requirement.html
