Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the president doesn't need congressional approval to bomb a foreign country. That was 2011. Apparently, the rules changed when Donald Trump took office, but we were never notified.
Pelosi has strongly criticized Trump’s strike against Iran, with Democrats pushing this as an illegal strike.
Trump cited the same powers as Obama, and now Pelosi’s former comments are coming back to haunt her.
On March 18, 2011, then-President Barack Obama ordered our military to conduct an air assault against Libya.
Obama held a meeting after the fact with 18 lawmakers to fill them in on the action. Three days later, on March 21, 2011, Obama sent an official letter to leadership in the House and Senate informing them of the strikes, and cited the War Powers Resolution (Act) for the justification of the strike.
This follows virtually the same timeline as Operation Epic Fury.
On February 28, 2026, President Donald Trump ordered an air strike against Iran in Operation Epic Fury.
Prior to the strike taking place, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the Gang of Eight to brief them on the upcoming operation. On March 2, 2026, President Donald Trump sent an official letter to Congress to inform members of the strike that had been conducted against Iran, citing the War Powers Resolution.
Democrats have called the strike illegal and are claiming that Trump did not seek congressional approval. Per the War Powers Resolution, the president can conduct a strike that is not a declaration of war, but it must be over within 60 days, or he will need a formal declaration of war by Congress or receive a 30-day extension approved by Congress.
After Trump’s strike, Pelosi stated, “President Trump’s decision to initiate military hostilities into Iran starts another unnecessary war which endangers our servicemembers and destabilizes an already fragile region.” She then added, "The Constitution is clear: decisions that lead our nation into war must be authorized by Congress.”
Again, she is cherry-picking lines without giving the full context of the law. She is 100% wrong in how she presented this to the American people.
Now, if we go back to Obama’s strike, she was asked by a reporter at the time, "You’re saying that the president did not need authorization initially and still does not need any authorization from Congress on Libya?" She answered simply, “Yes.”
When Pelosi’s office was asked about the varying stance, Ian Krager, a spokesperson for Pelosi, responded, "There is an absolute distinction between the limited military operations in Libya and the broad, escalating war with Iran initiated by President Trump. Speaker Pelosi’s position has been consistent: when the prospect of expansive or prolonged hostilities exists, the Constitution and the War Powers Act are clear that Congress must authorize it."
Trump has stated repeatedly that this operation is expected to last about four to six weeks, which is well within the window of the War Powers Resolution, so exactly what defines "prolonged hostilities." According to the War Powers Resolution, it would be an operation extending past 60 or 90 days. So, basically, we are getting a word salad from Pelosi's office because she thinks we are too stupid to read the law.
President Trump does not need their permission. He has followed the notification protocol exactly as done by Obama in 2011. My friends, you are being blatantly lied to by Democrat members of Congress. There is no gray area here.
