GOP Senator Says He Won’t Back More Middle East Operations Without Declaration of War

AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

In a Friday X post on the U.S. war with Iran, Senator John Curtis (R-UT) stressed that he “cannot support funding for further military operations without a formal declaration of war from Congress.”

“I stand by the President’s actions taken in defense of our national security interests in the Middle East,” wrote Curtis. “But we must be clear-eyed about history and the Constitution. While I support maintaining our readiness and replenishing stockpiles, I cannot support funding for further military operations without a formal declaration of war from Congress.”

In his post, he linked to an opinion piece of his, published on Wednesday in the Deseret News, in which he elaborates on his previous statement.

While he acknowledged that actions taken so far by President Donald Trump “were consistent with his legal authority,” he emphasized that their legality only remains valid for a 60-day window.

“Here in America,” Curtis wrote in the op-ed, “constitutional limits are in place to temper the president from unilateral authority.”

“A period of 60 days is a fully sufficient window for presidents to take emergency measures in response to a national threat and then remit a decision to the duly elected representatives of the people as to whether a state of war should in fact be declared and continued,” he went on.

“On matters of such dire national consequences, the president and Congress are supposed to work in concert. Let us ensure that they do,” Curtis concluded the piece, reiterating the importance of following the Constitution.

According to a Friday X post from NBC News correspondent Julie Tsirkin, “Curtis isn’t alone on this.”

Curtis has broken with the president in the past, telling CNN’s Manu Raju last May that Trump’s tariffs could “destroy small businesses” and that “when it comes to debt and deficit, we’re not being honest.”

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