House progressives point to war powers act in letter to Biden on Israel

A group of progressive House Democrats want President Biden to give a full picture of the U.S. military’s role in Israel’s widening conflict in the Middle East, contending that a “deepening American involvement” is unconstitutional as it was not authorized by Congress.

In a letter led by Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.), the lawmakers press Biden for a detailed account of American troops’ involvement to “command, coordinate, participate in the movement of, or accompany” Israeli forces engaged against Iran and Iranian-backed groups in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria or elsewhere in the Middle East.

“In light of recent regional escalations, including exchanges in hostilities between Israel and Iran and the Israeli government’s ground invasions of Lebanon and Gaza, we are deeply concerned about the increasing role and involvement of the U.S. Armed Forces in expanding wars across the Middle East,” the letter states. “American military involvement in these wars has not been authorized by the United States Congress, as required by the Constitution and U.S. law.”

The letter, sent Friday and also signed by Reps. André Carson (D-Ind.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Summer Lee (D-Pa.), is part of an ongoing congressional debate over presidential war powers, sparked by the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza last year.

Since then, the U.S. government has steadily become more involved in its ally’s numerous conflicts in the region — including transferring billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and military aid to Israel, sharing intelligence and operational coordination and even sending roughly 100 American troops to the country to operate a provided Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.

The lawmakers point to the War Powers Resolution of 1973, a law which limits the president’s ability to direct U.S. forces without congressional approval. Only Congress can authorize sending American troops abroad through a declaration of war, a statutory authorization or if an attack on the U.S. results in a national emergency, according to the resolution.

Congress can also use the authority to direct the removal of U.S. forces involved in unauthorized hostilities.

“This current involvement, and any additional involvement or deployment, of the Armed Forces in the Israeli government’s expanding regional war fall under the definition of ‘hostilities’ in the War Powers Resolution and are not in response to an imminent or actual attack against the United States,” the lawmakers write. “As such, these actions are unauthorized and are subject to Congress’ authorities.”

The group also called for deescalatory action in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians since October 2023, and in Lebanon, where in this same period, Israel has killed more than 2,700 people.

"These destructive wars must end, as must any unauthorized U.S. involvement in them," the lawmakers state.

Tlaib, Omar and Lee in January also signed their name to a bipartisan letter to Biden raising “serious concerns” about what they say were “unauthorized” U.S. strikes against the Houthis in Yemen — retaliation for attacks on U.S. forces and international shipping vessels in the Red Sea.