Rubio Fires Back At Reporter Over Congress Notification On Iran Strike

Secretary of State pushed back sharply against reporters questioning whether the Trump administration failed to notify Congress before launching military strikes on Iran.

During a press exchange Monday, Rubio rejected the premise outright, stating that congressional leadership had been informed ahead of the operation.

“Well, we did,” Rubio said when asked why Congress had not been notified. “We notified Congress, well, we notified the Gang of Eight, we notified congressional leadership.”

The comments came as the United States and Israel continue joint military operations targeting Iranian missile capabilities and military infrastructure.

Rubio emphasized that the administration had complied with the legal requirements governing military action.

Under the presidents must notify Congress within 48 hours after initiating hostilities or deploying U.S. forces into situations where combat is imminent.

Rubio said that notification had already been delivered.

“The law says we have to notify them 48 hours after beginning hostilities. We’ve done that,” he said. “I think the notification went today.”

He also noted that the administration briefed the so-called “Gang of Eight,” a bipartisan group consisting of the top congressional leadership and intelligence committee chairs from both parties.

“We can’t notify 535 members of Congress,” Rubio said, pointing out the practical limits of operational secrecy before a military strike.

When a reporter argued that Congress should vote to authorize military action, Rubio dismissed the claim that such approval was legally required beforehand.

“Congress can vote on whatever they want,” he said. “But there’s no law saying we have to do that.”

The debate reflects a longstanding constitutional tension between Congress and the executive branch. Article I of the Constitution grants Congress the authority to declare war, while Article II designates the president as commander in chief of the armed forces.

Since World War II, presidents from both parties have frequently ordered military strikes without formal declarations of war. The War Powers Resolution attempted to place limits on that authority, though many administrations Republican and Democratic alike have argued the law itself is constitutionally questionable.

Rubio underscored that point.

“No presidential administration has ever accepted the War Powers Act as constitutional,” he said. “Not Republican presidents, not Democratic presidents.”

Rubio added that he personally participated in numerous high-level congressional briefings during his time in the Senate, including service as part of the Gang of Eight.

“I’ve done more Gang of Eight briefings than I got in four years of Biden,” he said.

Those briefings typically involve classified intelligence and operational details shared with a small circle of congressional leaders to preserve secrecy while maintaining oversight.

The exchange highlights the political scrutiny surrounding the escalating confrontation with Iran. U.S. officials say the strikes are aimed at eliminating Iran’s missile production capabilities and preventing the regime from obtaining nuclear weapons.

President has indicated the campaign could continue for several weeks as U.S. and Israeli forces target remaining military infrastructure.

Under the War Powers Resolution framework, the administration could continue operations for up to 60 days without congressional authorization, with an additional 30-day withdrawal window if lawmakers do not approve extended military engagement.

For now, the administration maintains that it followed the law and that national security decisions cannot be slowed by the logistical challenge of notifying hundreds of lawmakers before a strike.

As tensions in the Middle East continue to unfold, the debate over presidential war powers is once again front and center in Washington.

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