AOC strikes unlikely alliance with Republican to block the president from bombing Iran
professorkamrankhan@gmail.com 
Progressive ‘Squad’ leader Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has struck up an unexpected alliance to push back on President Donald Trump should he try to wage war in Iran alongside Israel.
Ocasio-Cortez, 35, responded to a social media post from Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie on Monday evening in which he vowed to invoke the war powers of Congress. She agreed to ‘sign on’ and make the effort a bipartisan push.
The lawmakers are referencing a Vietnam-era law mandating that presidents must withdraw troops 60 days after deployment if the military operation lacks congressional approval.
The Constitution also limits the president’s ability to wage war without the authorization of the legislative branch.
Massie wants to invoke that power to make lawmakers vote on whether the U.S. should go to war with Iran.
‘This is not our war,’ the Kentuckian wrote on X. ‘But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution.’
‘I’m introducing a bipartisan War Powers Resolution tomorrow to prohibit our involvement,’ he continued. ‘I invite all members of Congress to co-sponsor this resolution.’
The effort may bind Trump’s hands should he eventually opt to engage U.S. forces in the Middle East.
On Monday evening the president unexpectedly left the G7 in Canada, saying he has ‘early’ meeting for Tuesday morning in the Situation Room.
It comes after he sent an urgent warning to residents of Tehran to ‘evacuate’ amid reports of Israel ramping up military action.
Ballistic missiles launched by Iran as part of renewed retaliatory attacks are seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, on June 14, 2025
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., posted on X Monday evening that she would sign on to a Republican-led effort to restrict the president if he decided to wage war on Iran
Trump left the G7 summit in Canada abruptly on Monday evening to rush back to Washington due to Israel’s war on Iran
It was unclear whether a bipartisan effort could gain steam in Congress.
The House of Representatives is in recess this week and the Senate is hard at work on Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act.
With members back in their districts and distracted with other work, it’s unlikely House leadership will choose to reconvene the chamber this week.
Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Tim Kaine of Virginia, both of whom caucus with the Democrats, are also pushing restraint as Israel and Iran clash.
‘It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States. I am deeply concerned that the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran could quickly pull the United States into another endless conflict,’ Kaine wrote in a statement.
He has already proposed a resolution in the Senate to restrict U.S. action should Trump launch an offensive.
Sanders, meanwhile, has claimed Israel timed its attacks on Iran to derail ongoing U.S-Iran nuclear negotiations. Israel killed some of Iran’s negotiators with its airstrikes, along with top military leaders and nuclear scientists.
With a razor-thin majority and some Republicans advocating against the war, anti-war lawmakers may be able to block the president if he decided to get the U.S. involved.
A map of the Iranian Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant that Israel is seeking U.S. help to bomb
Rescue teams work at damaged buildings in Nobonyad Square following Israeli airstrikes on June 13, 2025 in Tehran, Iran
Sen. Bernie Sanders and AOC have both come out against war with Iran
However, any action from Congress to limit Trump’s ability as commander in chief would likely be not be the final word.
When former President Barack Obama conducted U.S. military operations in Libya in 2011 his administration claimed that the duration of the operations did not represent ‘sustained hostilities,’ and the offensive skirted congressional approval.
Should Trump’s administration get involved with Iran, it may strike a similar tone.
Israeli officials have called for Trump to launch a limited bunker buster barrage on Iran’s remaining nuclear enrichment facilities.
They claim only U.S.-made bombs that can be flown by U.S. planes can get the job done.
Specifically, Israel wants the U.S. to drop multiple 30,000-pound bombs on the same spot at Iran’s mountainous Fordow Fuel Enrichment Site.
The president has reportedly been meeting with his National Security Council Tuesday morning.
