#1699 The Iran War and the U.S. Constitution

Clay and frequent guest Beau Breslin of Skidmore College try to place Donald Trump's war in Iran in the context of American history with a particular emphasis on the war powers language of the U.S. Constitution. The Founders considered war so grave that they did everything in their power to make sure it was not undertaken without the broad support of the American people. Wars must begin in Congress, and particularly the House of Representatives. The House enjoys the power of the purse to fund wars or refuse to fund them. In the last 60 years, presidents have gone to war with decreasing Constitutional respect, but no previous war was undertaken without some level of consultation with Congress. So far, Congress has voted against at least three war powers resolutions that might have put some controls on our incursion into the Middle East. This episode was recorded on March 5, 2026.

You can listen to #1699 The Iran War and the U.S. Constitution online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

#1699 The Iran War and the U.S. Constitution is an episode from The Thomas Jefferson Hour by Listening to America.

This episode is 51:32 long.

This episode was published on Apr 13, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Thomas Jefferson Hour when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.