JD Vance called War Powers Act 'fake' in resurfaced comments before Iran attack

JD Vance's comments about the War Powers Act from last month have resurfaced after the joint U.S.-Israel attack on Iran on Saturday.

While speaking to reporters in January, the vice president called the War Powers Act "fundamentally a fake and unconstitutional law," saying it wouldn't change how the Trump administration conducts foreign policy.

Vance was referring to the 1973 law shortly after senators on Capitol Hill voted to advance a bipartisan measure to block President Donald Trump from using military force against Venezuela. The U.S. would conduct an operation in Venezuela anyway, resulting in the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro.

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The War Powers Act is a law that allows the president to send the Armed Forces into action overseas only with the "statutory authorization" of Congress, or in case of "a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces."

Last month, five GOP senators — Rand Paul, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young — voted with Democrats to advance a resolution on the War Powers Act, which upset the president at the time.

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"Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young should never be elected to office again," he wrote on Truth Social.

Young said he supported the measure since he argued that Congress needs to give the president approval to deploy U.S. forces to Venezuela. "The President and members of his team have stated that the United States now ‘runs’ Venezuela. It is unclear if that means that an American military presence will be required to stabilize the country. I — along with what I believe to be the vast majority of Hoosiers — am not prepared to commit American troops to that mission," Young said last month.

Operation Epic Fury

After weeks of Trump threatening military action in Iran if talks didn't go through, the U.S. fired several airstrikes in Tehran in a joint operation with Israel on Saturday.

The Pentagon announced on Sunday that three American service members were killed and five others were "seriously wounded" in the operation. Several others who suffered shrapnel injuries and concussions have been treated and are preparing to return to duty.

"Major combat operations continue, and our response effort is ongoing," CENTCOM said in an update. Additional information, such as the identities of the "fallen warriors," is being withheld until 24 hours after their families have been notified.

The joint attack across the Middle East has wiped out much of the Iranian leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In retaliation, the Islamic State launched missiles and attack drones on U.S. allies in the region, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait.

At least one person was killed and 11 others injured in strikes at airports in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In addition to Khamenei, Iran's former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also killed.