Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
WATCH: Rubio calls War Powers Act 'unconstitutional’
Posted
May 5, 2026
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1,336
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May 5, 2026
1,336
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3:19Now PlayingSecretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the War Powers Act, which allows the president to deploy the military in cases of "imminent threat" for a 60-day period without congressional approval, is unconstitutional.
Rubio said Trump and every past U.S. president hold the same view.
“We don't acknowledge the law is constitutional,” Rubio said. “Nonetheless, we comply with elements of it for purposes of maintaining, you know, good relations with Congress, and we want them to be involved and we want them to be informed.”
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed concern last week that the war in Iran was exceeding the 60-day limit outlined by the War Powers Act. Efforts in the Senate to pass a resolution limiting Trump's actions in Iran have failed.
Rubio was responding to a reporter’s question about whether additional fighting in Iran would fall under Project Freedom, an effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping traffic that the White House announced on Monday.
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