Who's allowed to launch an attack on another country? Just asking questions.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D–Calif.) joined Reason's Just Asking Questions podcast to discuss the War Powers Resolution he's co-sponsored with Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.), which would require President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval before continuing to drop bombs in Iran. He also discussed Trump's remarks that the governments of Israel and Iran "don't know what the fuck they are doing" after they ignored his call for a ceasefire, whether or not the administration likely destroyed Iran's nuclear program, and why he's eager to work with the antiestablishment right to rein in war powers and get corrupt money out of Congress.
00:00—Podcast theme
00:28—Introducing the War Powers Resolution and Iran airstrikes
05:19—Trump's war instincts and the MAGA anti-war base
10:10—The diplomatic alternative to military action on Iran
15:48—Israel-Iran ceasefire and Trump's response
19:30—Trump's influence over Netanyahu and Middle East peace prospects
23:05—The bipartisan push to rein in executive war powers
27:33—The Democratic Party's anti-war identity crisis
30:29—Building left-right anti-establishment alliances
34:11—Rebuilding trust in government and American purpose
39:49—Reform priorities: money in politics and war powers
This is an AI-generated transcript. Check against the original before quoting.
Liz Wolfe: Who's allowed to launch an attack on another country? Just Asking Questions. Representative Ro Khanna of California is here with us today to talk about his War Powers Resolution that he's co-sponsoring with Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, who's also been a guest on the show many times before, which would require President Trump to seek congressional approval before continuing to drop bombs in Iran. Congressman Khanna, thank you so much for coming on the show.
Rep. Ro Khanna: Thank you for having me.
Zach Weissmueller: So, here's the text of your resolution. It says:
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.
And you list a few facts such as that "Congress has the sole power to declare war," "Congress has not declared war." Therefore, "forces shall be removed by the president if Congress so directs." And the kind of summary statement here is:
Congress hereby directs the president to terminate the use of the United States armed forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran.
So given that Trump has alread
Published on 2 months ago
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