Two Bay Area members of Congress have proposed two new measures to mandate congressional approval for U.S. military action against Iran, in the wake of President Donald Trump authorizing U.S. forces to kill Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Iraq last Thursday.
Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s Quds Force, was widely viewed as the nation’s second-most-powerful person behind Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On Sunday, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) announced a resolution to halt U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran without congressional approval. In a separate measure, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-San Jose) introduced a bill to block funding for military force against Iran without approval from Congress.
Omar and Lee’s resolution, a companion to a war powers resolution authored by Sen. Tim Kaine, would require any hostilities against Iran to be authorized by Congress through a declaration of war or authorization of military force.
“The assassination of any official of another country is against any kind of foreign policy that we should have as a country,” Lee told KQED on Monday. “[Soleimani] was not a good man. Everyone understands that. He has committed horrible, horrible crimes. That’s not the issue. This president did not come to Congress. He did not receive authorization, nor did he consult with Congress.”