Why NC’s Rep. Valerie Foushee is introducing a bill to end the war in Iran
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Rep. Valerie Foushee will introduce a bill to withdraw from hostilities against Iran.
- Under the War Powers Resolution, Congress has not approved the action within 60 day.
- Foushee’s bill exempts self-defense, defensive troop presenceand intelligence activites.
Rep. Valerie Foushee plans to introduce a bill Wednesday morning that directs President Donald Trump to withdraw the United States from hostilities against Iran.
Foushee, a Democrat from Hillsborough and member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, announced the new bill first to McClatchy, saying, “Congress has a moral obligation to end this illegal war immediately.”
On Feb. 28, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched airstrikes against Iran without first conferring with Congress.
Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, a president may not engage in an armed conflict without first seeking congressional approval. If a president does so, he has 48 hours to notify Congress and then 60 days after to obtain that approval. If Congress does not give signoff, the president then has 30 days to withdraw troops.
In the case of Iran, Trump did not seek approval but did notify Congress within 48 hours.
But 60 days have passed, the war has continued and Congress has not acted.
Republicans argue the countdown to the 60-day mark paused on April 8 when Trump entered into a temporary ceasefire agreement with Iranian leaders.
On Monday, Trump said that ceasefire is on life support, while Iran warned that any future attacks by the United States “will bring a bad result,” CBS News reported.
“Trump is plunging our country into another forever war that has already claimed the lives of American servicemembers, killed thousands of civilians, and wastes taxpayer dollars every single day,” Foushee said in a written statement.
Cost of the war
During a White House Easter lunch, Trump announced, “We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare.”
He added that it wasn’t possible to pay for programs like Medicaid and Medicare on the federal level when having to “guard the country.”
“We cannot stand by as Republicans lie and claim our government cannot afford to provide our communities with healthcare or fully fund (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), all while spending billions on a war the American people never asked for,” Foushee said.
The war has cost around $29 billion.
The One Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress will make cuts to SNAP that are estimated at $187 billion through 2034, and cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplaces estimated at just over $1 trillion, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Preventing wars was a constant refrain during Trump’s 2024 campaign. He promised not to drag the United States into forever wars. He said he could end the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office, promised stability in the Middle East and said he would prevent World War III.
Republicans have largely expressed support for Trump’s actions in Iran, though his changing positions on why he attacked Iran have led to some concerns. Most Republican members of Congress support a change in leadership or destruction of the country’s weapon stockpiles.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of Huntersville said at the war’s outset he believed that Iran needed a regime change and that Trump should have the leeway to make that happen.
In an interview with News Nation, Sen. Ted Budd, a Republican from Davie County, said that the United States does not want Iran to ever have nuclear weapons.
Foushee’s bill
Last week, Foushee’s predecessor, former Rep. David Price, wrote a letter to the top Republicans and Democrats overseeing Congress’ Armed Services committees asking that they take back their authority to declare war.
Foushee echoed their concerns in a news release about her new bill. Those concerns include that the war in Iran has led to the deaths of 13 American soldiers, injured more than 200 and killed 1,300 Iranian civilians.
And that the war is costing an estimated $2 billion per day.
“Though the White House brands Trump as the ‘President of Peace’ the facts are clear: Trump has escalated U.S. military involvement in Cuba, Venezuela and Iran,” Foushee wrote. “This administration has fostered little-to-no change while endangering innocent lives and further destabilizing entire regions.”
Foushee’s bill says it is not intended to prevent the United States from defending itself from imminent attacks, from maintaining a troop presence in the region for defensive purposes, or from removing troops who are not engaged in hostilities against Iran.
The bill also says it does not intend to disrupt any intelligence, counterintelligence or investigative activities regarding threats in or from Iran or the surrounding area.
Foushee has cosponsored or supported several bills that would rein in Trump’s hostilities against foreign nations.
She also cosponsored the bipartisan resolution introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie in June 2025 and voted in favor of Rep. Gregory Meeks’ resolution in April 2025 and Massie’s resolution in March.
None of those bills became law, and Foushee’s resolution is unlikely to pass in a Republican-controlled Congress.
