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

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAVIDSON. Mr. Speaker, my name is Warren Davidson, and I love this country with a soldier's passion.

More than 30 years ago, I enlisted in the infantry. My chain of command later helped me earn an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. I was commissioned as an infantry officer, serving in the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 101st Airborne, Rakkasans, and The Old Guard.

Then and now, I swore an oath to support and defend our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Make no mistake, Iran is an enemy of the United States. As our military engages them, they do so justly. Unfortunately, they are not yet doing so constitutionally, and that is why we are here today.

For some, this debate will be about whether we should even be fighting in Iran. For me, the debate is more fundamental: Is the President of the United States, regardless of the person holding the office, empowered to do whatever he wants? That is not what our Constitution says.

Is he empowered to do whatever he wants for 60 or 90 days? That is not what the War Powers Act says.

Is there any limit to executive authority whatsoever?

I rise in support of this War Powers Resolution today because the moral hazard posed by a government no longer constrained by our Constitution is a grave threat.

The threat to a government no longer constrained by the plain meaning of words is not new for Democrats. Recall that Democrats needed help answering: ``What is a woman?'' Unfortunately, Republicans now want to claim they can't answer: ``What is a war?''

This debate isn't even new. Democratic President Harry Truman obstructed a vote on the Korean war, pretending it was, instead, a U.N. police action. Republican Senator Taft from Ohio insisted in vain that Congress should not shirk its duty to vote on declaring war or at least to authorize the conflict. Instead, Congress then, as it has in the past, passively cut checks to fund the war that they refused to authorize.

This dereliction of duty is commonly mocked as an example of constitutional avoidance, and it contributed to the passage of the War Powers Act.

President Trump's America First message was supposed to be a rejection of the globalist war machine whose endless wars have left America less free, less safe, and more burdened by debt. On the other hand, President Trump has been reluctant to embrace war and has been incredibly successful in diplomacy.

In this case, war may well be necessary, but it is far more pressing that we restore a government small enough to fit within the Constitution. We can afford a government that small and no other. America is a Republic, not an empire.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage everyone to honor their oath and support our Constitution. Vote ``yes'' on this resolution.

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