Article Summary –
Arizona Reps. Biggs and Schweikert, previously critical of presidential war powers, back Trump’s Iran attack, aligning with party and Trump’s base. Despite past caution, Biggs argues Trump’s actions don’t equate to war, citing strategic targeting. Both face contrasting past stances as critics.
WASHINGTON – Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, who have long argued presidents lack war authority without congressional approval, supported President Trump’s decision to strike Iran.
Both Arizona Republicans, running for governor in the July 21 primary, can’t risk alienating Trump or his base. Trump has endorsed Biggs.
“It was the right vote,” Schweikert, R-Fountain Hills, told Cronkite News after the House voted 219-212 against a resolution to end hostilities with Iran.
He didn’t explain how supporting the Feb. 28 attacks aligns with his online views: “The power to declare war rests exclusively with Congress, not the Executive branch.”
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Neither Biggs nor Schweikert publicly praised the Iran attack decision, even post-vote.
“I support Congress playing its constitutional role on war matters,” Biggs, R-Gilbert, said post-vote, “but the resolution addressed a non-existent situation. Trump’s actions to neutralize Iranian threats fit his authority under Article II and the War Powers Act of 1973.”
The House vote followed the Senate’s 53-47 decision to kill a similar resolution. Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego sided with Democrats and one Republican.
In the House, two Republicans voted to limit Trump’s war power, while four Democrats voted to affirm it. Arizona’s congressional members voted along party lines.
“The Islamic Republic is a brutal regime,” Phoenix Rep. Yassamin Ansari, the first Iranian-American Democrat in Congress, said. “We must hold it accountable for its horrific crimes.”
She added, “The Constitution is clear: war powers rest with Congress. The fate of Iran and the U.S. are at stake.”
Biggs defended his vote, arguing the Iran situation doesn’t constitute a war.
“The president’s actions were strategic, not a war declaration. Targeted operations to protect Americans and prevent Iran’s nuclear advancement are not open-ended war,” he stated.
Previously, Biggs criticized presidents for overstepping authority on less extensive operations. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died in an air strike at the conflict’s onset.
When President Biden ordered air strikes in Yemen in January 2024, Biggs posted on X that it violated the Constitution.
In 2019, Biggs co-founded a bipartisan War Powers Caucus with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., emphasizing Congress’s key war decision role.
In January 2020, Biggs and Schweikert were among just 11 House Republicans to vote with Democrats to limit Trump’s unilateral military action. The measure failed.
In July 2020, Biggs and Rep. Matt Gaetz proposed a repeal of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, limiting presidential power post-9/11. The measure failed.
On Thursday, Biggs expressed satisfaction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s mission: “Protect American lives, dismantle Iran’s threat, and prevent its nuclear weapon acquisition.”
“I support constitutional power balance, but also a president who lawfully keeps Americans safe,” Biggs stated.
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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The post Biggs, Schweikert back Trump on Iran conflict despite past war power stance first appeared on Copper Courier.
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