U.S. Congress and Military Authorization

Fox News reports that House Republicans are broadly supporting President Donald Trump’s joint U.S.–Israeli air and missile campaign against Iran, including strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while signaling that a deployment of U.S. ground troops would be a red line requiring formal congressional approval. Members such as Reps. Rich McCormick, Chip Roy and Nancy Mace say they "agree with the policy" of current strikes and see them as consistent with prior limited interventions, but insist that "boots on the ground" in Iran would be a "very different conversation" under Congress’ war‑powers role. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie warns that cutting the operation short could leave the U.S. more vulnerable by starting a conflict and then failing to degrade Iran’s capabilities, while Rep. Mark Alford argues that improved intelligence and coordination with the IDF make a ground war unlikely. The White House, via Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, maintains that sending U.S. ground troops is not currently under consideration but refuses to rule it out, keeping the constitutional collision course theoretical for now. The story underscores how, even with strong intra‑party deference to Trump on Iran, a substantial bloc of Republicans is on record that any sustained ground war would need explicit Hill sign‑off, a stance that dovetails with public unease in polling about escalation.