The United States is now in active combat with Iran. Strikes began on February 28. Americans are dying. Oil prices are spiking. And most people are asking the same question: how did we get here so fast?

Before we debate the strategy, it helps to understand the rules — the ones the founders wrote down and the ones we’ve slowly drifted away from.

What the Constitution Says

Article I, Section 8 is clear: Congress declares war. Not the president. Not the Pentagon. Congress.

The founders were deliberate about this. They had lived under a king who could wage war at will, and they wanted to make sure no single person could drag a nation into conflict. War was too serious, too costly, and too consequential to leave to one man’s judgment.

The president, as commander-in-chief, directs the military once war is authorized. But the decision to go to war was meant to belong to the people’s representatives.

How We Drifted

Since World War II — the last time Congress formally declared war — presidents from both parties have used military force dozens of times without a formal declaration. Korea. Vietnam. Iraq. Libya. Syria. Now Iran.

Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973 to claw back some authority. It requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing forces and limits unauthorized military action to 60 days. In practice, presidents of both parties have largely ignored its constraints.

Why It Matters Now

The Iran strikes were launched without a formal declaration of war. The administration cited existing authorizations and executive authority. Congress is now demanding hearings and accountability — as it should.

Conservatives believe in limited government and the rule of law. That doesn’t go on pause during wartime. The question of who has the authority to commit America to war is not a partisan question — it’s a constitutional one.

Whatever you think of the Iran strikes, the process matters. A republic that outsources its war-making power to the executive branch has weakened itself in ways that outlast any single conflict.

The founders knew that. It’s worth remembering why.