Would the founders approve of US action in Iran?

Americans remain deeply divided over the U.S.-Israel-initiated conflict in Iran, with opinions ranging from stark disapproval to strong support.

But Glenn Beck wonders how our founding fathers would have viewed America’s current military conflict with Iran. To dive into this query, he invites Professor Jonathan Turley, author of “Rage and the Republic,” to “The Glenn Beck Program” for an in-depth constitutional breakdown.

Glenn cuts straight to the heart of the matter: “How would the founders have looked at the situation in Iran?”

Turley doesn’t mince words: “They would not have looked kindly upon it.”

“The framers divided the power over war between Congress and the president, and so under Article 2, Section 2, the president is declared the commander in chief, but under Article 1, Section 8, Congress alone may declare war,” he explains. “So the framers wanted to make it difficult to go to war; they didn't like foreign entanglements.”

However, since World War II, which was the last time war was formally declared, Congress has “evaded its responsibility” by passing vague resolutions, like Authorizations for Use of Military Force, Turley explains, and as a result, “The courts have largely deferred to the political branches.”

All considered, is President Trump acting within established authority?

“The answer is yeah,” says Turley. “I mean in the sense of the modern interpretation of the Constitution, not quite if you look at the original intent.”

“There's no question that [President Trump] is using the authority used by past Democratic presidents, including President Barack Obama,” he adds, criticizing the hypocrisy of Democrats like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), who defended Obama's unilateral 2011 military attack on Libya but are now “expressing horror” at Trump's similar decisive action against Iran.

Glenn adds that under the current War Powers Resolution, presidents can engage in hostilities for up to 90 days but only if they properly notify Congress to start the clock — yet "not a single president has ever filed the paperwork" and "Congress doesn't insist," so "the clock never starts," allowing indefinite unilateral actions without real checks.

Turley notes that the War Powers Act has long been contested by presidents of both parties as infringing on Article II authority, and while the standard 60 days would likely suffice for this limited operation, efforts like Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine's resolution to force an immediate halt carry little force due to a built-in exception allowing responses to imminent attacks.

“Every attack now is imminent. Every attack we launch is preemptive. I mean, the Iranian government is firing missiles randomly at other countries. So the question is, what does this resolution even do?” he asks.

“And can't the president veto this anyway?” asks Glenn.

“Right,” says Turley, although he speculates that resolution likely won’t pass.

“The interesting dynamic here on the Hill is to see how many of these members are willing in the middle of combat operation to say, even symbolically, even though it's sort of a paper tiger, ‘You better stop now,”’ he adds.

Turley then highlights another layer of congressional dysfunction amid the conflict: the ongoing partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown.

He warns that it would be “breathtaking” if Democrats maintain their blockade on funding Homeland Security and TSA — demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement reforms amid the ongoing partial DHS shutdown — right “in the middle of this conflict” with Iran.

To hear more of Glenn and Turley’s conversation, watch the video above.

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