White House won’t seek congressional authorization for Iran war

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the Trump administration doesn’t plan to seek congressional authorization for the war in Iran, saying the move was “unnecessary” because the conflict has been ongoing for nearly a month.

“That formal authorization from Congress is not necessary because we are currently in major combat operations in Iran,” Ms. Leavitt said at the White House press briefing,

Ms. Leavitt said that the administration has had its top national security officials brief lawmakers “out of courtesy,” reiterating that asking for authorization is “unnecessary.”

She added that the administration “will always abide by the law,” but did not address how the White House would handle any decision to put U.S. troops on the ground.

When asked about the deployment of a brigade combat team from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East to support operations, Ms. Leavitt said President Trump likes to “maintain options at his disposal.”

The brigade is trained to parachute into hostile territory to secure airfields and land. The brigade would be deployed along with the division headquarters to oversee planning and coordination. However, the administration has emphasized that no decision has been made to put boots on the ground in Iran.

Ms. Leavitt also suggested that authorization from Congress may not be needed because the Iran war could wrap up soon, reiterating that the timeline was still four to six weeks.

“Again, as I’ve said, we’ve always estimated approximately four to six weeks. So you could do the math on that,” she said.

Senate Republicans this week blocked an effort by Democrats to end the military offensive in Iran until Mr. Trump wins congressional authorization.

The Senate voted 53-47 to block a resolution that would force the president to withdraw U.S. troops from operations against Iran unless Congress voted to approve the effort.

It is the third time since the war began that Republicans have succeeded in blocking the Democrats’ efforts.

Democrats have argued that congressional authorization is needed because they have unanswered questions about the conflict’s length and overall goals. Republicans have near-unanimously defended the war, saying it is necessary to protect Americans from the imminent threat from Iran.