Democrats urge Trump’s impeachment after Iran strike, citing lack of congressional approval and constitutional concerns.

Impeachment Calls Follow Unilateral Iran Airstrikes

Progressive Democrats, led by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, quickly called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump after he launched military strikes against Iran’s nuclear program without congressional authorization. The move came late Saturday, when Trump announced a targeted attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Ocasio-Cortez took to social media soon after the announcement, declaring the president’s action a “grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers.” She charged that Trump “has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations,” insisting that it is “absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”

Other Democrats echoed her concerns. Representative Sean Casten of Illinois argued that the president’s order to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites, absent Congressional consent, was an “unambiguous impeachable offense.” Casten clarified, “This is not about the merits of Iran’s nuclear program….to be clear, I do not dispute that Iran is a nuclear threat.” Still, he warned, “No president has the authority to bomb another country that does not pose an imminent threat to the US without the approval of Congress.”

Casten acknowledged the political realities by stating, “I’m not saying we have the votes to impeach, I’m saying that you DO NOT do this without Congressional approval.” The calls for impeachment reflected growing frustration among Democrats over the president’s willingness to take unilateral military action.

Legal Authority, Partisan Rancor, and Historical Precedents

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, also of New York, weighed in, accusing Trump of failing to seek congressional authorization and risking “American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East.” He placed full responsibility for any negative outcomes on Trump, citing the president’s “unilateral military action.”

Under US law, the executive branch is generally not authorized to order foreign military action without Congress’s approval. However, prior presidents—Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Trump himself during his first term—have launched comparable military operations in various countries, including Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iran, without formal declarations of war.

Republican Representative Mike Lawler of New York responded on Sunday by criticizing the Democrats’ impeachment calls as “absolutely absurd.” He pointed out that previous Democratic presidents undertook military actions without facing impeachment. “These folks are truly reaching new levels of Trump derangement in the aftermath of yesterday’s decision,” Lawler said.

The last time Congress formally declared war was in 1941, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Legal scholars remain divided over the scope of presidential power to initiate military actions without congressional consent.

As the debate continues, the Iran strike has reignited deep divisions in Washington over constitutional authority, war powers, and the proper limits of executive action in times of crisis. Whether these calls for impeachment gain further traction remains to be seen as lawmakers grapple with the implications for US foreign policy and democratic oversight.