The U.S. government’s involvement in Israel’s expanding war in the Middle East is unconstitutional because it was not authorized by Congress, Democratic U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit and Cori Bush of St. Louis wrote in a strongly worded letter to President Joe Biden on Friday.
“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, signed by progressive Democratic Party allies André Carson (Indiana), Ilhan Omar (Minnesota), and Summer Lee (Pennsylvania), follows the lawmakers’ previous support for the “Ceasefire Now” resolution introduced last year.
“The American people have made it clear that they want to see an immediate ceasefire, an end to these wars, and the return of hostages, not deepening American involvement in potentially endless regional war,” the letter states.
The lawmakers refer to the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which limits the president’s power to direct U.S. military actions without congressional approval. The resolution specifies that only Congress can authorize sending U.S. armed forces abroad through a declaration of war or statutory authorization, or in the event of a national emergency resulting from an attack on the U.S.
Under this authority, Congress can also direct the removal of U.S. armed forces engaged in unauthorized hostilities. The letter’s authors highlight concerns, including U.S. intelligence involvement in locating individuals targeted by Israel in Gaza, U.S. officials’ openness to strikes against Iran, and the increased deployment of American troops in areas of heightened hostility.
“The Executive Branch cannot continue to ignore the law without Congressional intervention,” the letter states. “In the absence of an immediate ceasefire and end of hostilities, Congress retains the right and ability to exercise its Constitutional authority to direct the removal of any and all unauthorized Armed Forces from the region pursuant to Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution.”
The lawmakers also asked Biden for a detailed account of the U.S. military’s involvement to “command, coordinate, participate in the movement of, or accompany” Israeli forces in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, the West Bank, Syria, or elsewhere in the Middle East.
The lawmakers are calling for de-escalation, saying more than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 90% of the population has been displaced. In Lebanon, Israel killed more than 2,700 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents, according to the lawmakers.
“These destructive wars must end, as must any unauthorized U.S. involvement in them,” the lawmakers wrote. “Thus, Congress’ involvement and debate are necessary. Every day that passes without a ceasefire produces catastrophic loss of life and threatens further death and destruction. We have an obligation to both the living and the dead to put an immediate end to this devastation.”
