Rep. Meuser to Newsmax: Restricting War Powers Now Would Embolden Iran

Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., on Monday defended U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran over the weekend as lawful and necessary.

Speaking on Newsmax's "Wake Up America," Meuser argued the administration complied with the 1973 War Powers Act and questioned the message sent by Democrats pushing the vote.

The strike on Iran was "completely legal," Meuser said. "It was utilized by many presidents in the past. ... The rules of the 1973 War Powers Act have been followed."

"And yet we have many Democrat leaders particularly [who] want to bring this up for a vote," he added. "What kind of signal is that? Does that embolden Iran?”

The United States and Israel launched coordinated military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28 in a major escalation of long-running tensions over Tehran's nuclear program and regional activities, citing threats to U.S. and allied security and Iran's refusal to curb its enrichment activities.

But the House is preparing for a bipartisan vote later this week on a war powers resolution that could constrain President Donald Trump's ability to continue the campaign.

The vote is expected Thursday as lawmakers receive briefings on the widening conflict, which escalated after U.S. and Israeli strikes inside Iran over the weekend and Iranian retaliation across the region.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine told reporters Monday that Operation Epic Fury is intended to degrade Iran's military capabilities and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon as concerns grow about the scope and duration of the fighting.

Meuser said the rationale includes Iran's rejection of prior proposals that he described as offering materials for peaceful nuclear energy development.

"The United States offered the materials to continue their energy development for their nuclear power, for energy, not for bomb," Meuser said. "And you know what the Iranians said? No."

"So what kind of signal was that?" he added. "Clearly, they want their enrichment of uranium for one purpose, not for energy, but for a bomb."

Meuser also dismissed arguments that the strikes violate an "America first" approach and said regional partners support the action.

"The regional nations throughout the Middle East are all very happy with us, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE," Meuser said, adding that the administration's regional strategy has built trust against what he called Iran's terror network.

"Iran for 47 years ... they've been murdering us, telling us how they're going to annihilate us, annihilate Israel as well," the congressman said.

"I mean, the sleeper cells that they have, the terrorism that they've engaged in," he added. "So so there's a pretty good chance here we're going to eliminate forever this reign of terror and truly bring stability to the Middle East."

Meuser tied his argument to broader security concerns and pointed to Iran's backing of proxy forces, including Hamas, while urging Congress to focus on sustaining national security operations.

"We have a state of Iran that has caused the reason for the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in Israel that was run and funded by Iran," Meuser said. "Everyone needs to come to understand that this is a serious national security issue."

"We need to back our military, especially now. You want to have discussions behind closed doors," he added. "Let's pass these bills.

"Let's fund it. Let's stop with the nonsense of the War Powers Act, which has existed again since 1973, and deal with this ... extremely important initiative."

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