For those surprised by this, worth noting that the only years since 1997 when the US *hasn't* bombed targets in Iraq were 2012, 2013, and 2022 (and there are some indications there may have been unannounced strikes in 2022). At least monthly strikes through July 2021; strikes on at least...

Wesley Morgan@wesleymorgan.bsky.social · last wk.

It's been a few days since the US bombed Iran, but it struck multiple Shiite militia targets in Iraq yesterday. DOD has stopped announcing strike numbers, but the militias say the strikes spanned *7 provinces.* That would mean the widest-ranging US strikes in Iraq since at least 2020.

Today @brennancenter.org joined with 35 other organizations to call on Congress to use all "legal and political tools at [its] disposal to reaffirm Congress’s constitutional prerogatives and draw the unauthorized Iran War to a close." /1

New from me on the Monroe Doctrine and constitutional war powers. Many thanks to @lawfaremedia.org for letting me walk readers through a century of war powers practice under the doctrine--practice that reveals + reinforces real constraints on presidential power. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

The Monroe Doctrine Was Never a Blank Check for Presidential War

Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” in Latin America inverts a policy that, properly understood, abided by and reinforced constraints on unilateral presidential force.

lawfaremedia.org

The anti-ISIS Somalia campaign appears to be in a lull since May but there’s another strike against al-Shabaab. Track the war with our data here: www.newamerica.org/insights/ame...

Noteworthy that this identifies War Powers Resolution "hostilities" reports submitted on June 12 and June 29. The White House did not publish these reports, but they constitute formal acknowledgement that War Powers Resolution hostilities continued throughout the so-called "ceasefire" period.

Tess Bridgeman@tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 3w ago

1/The #Trump admin will claim this report to Congress starts a new 60-day clock for terminating hostilities w/ #Iran under the War Powers Resolution. But let's be clear: This new round of attacks is part of the same hostilities that began in late Feb. We're over 130 days already... & counting.

Today we joined 25 partner organizations urging Gov. Whitmer to bring Michigan's National Guard home from Washington, DC. Four governors have withdrawn forces already. Michigan's are slated to stay through August. The Guard belongs to Michigan. The letter: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

In case you’re wondering, JSOC’s current generals/admirals who reportedly were pushing this are: commander Lt. Gen. Jon Braga (Delta alum), deputy commander Brig. Gen. Terence Taylor (AFSOC MC-130 guy), and assistant commander Rear Adm. Bart Randall (SEAL, but without a ton of Team 6 time).

Good @thehighside.bsky.social report on the “HEU raid” bandied about on TV this spring as if it would be a quick, easy thing. Key: JSOC has trained for versions of this for years—but *not* for a version where the target facilities have been pulverized first. Yet JSOC generals still pushed for it.

Jack Murphy@jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · last mo.

New High Side article out today about the JSOC 0400 counter-WMD mission, and the proposed plan to snatch highly enriched Uranium out of Iran. thehighside.substack.com/p/iran-wmd-r...

"People have argued this concurrent resolution is not binding upon the President -- what we are saying here is that the Constitution is binding and the President is bound by the Constitution."

Katherine Yon Ebright@ebrightyon.bsky.social · last mo.

Your daily dispatch from the War Powers Resolution's legislative history -- a quote from Lincoln, a rumination on our constitutional structure and the historical gloss on that structure, and Congress's own views on the concurrent resolution mechanism.

Your daily dispatch from the War Powers Resolution's legislative history -- a quote from Lincoln, a rumination on our constitutional structure and the historical gloss on that structure, and Congress's own views on the concurrent resolution mechanism.

Happening now!

Katherine Yon Ebright@ebrightyon.bsky.social · last mo.

On June 30, I'll be giving a talk and doing Q&A on the War Powers Resolution and the constitutional balance of war powers. June 30 is my birthday! Roll through! www.mobilize.us/fairfaxdems/...

On war powers, executive-branch lawyers simply ignore when Congress pushes back and write their memoranda as if the pushback never happened. The problem here is that the Court has absented itself from war powers conversations, refusing to check increasingly dubious "legal" interpretations.

Josh Chafetz@joshchafetz.bsky.social · last mo.

I will once again remind folks that a very sizable chunk of what looks like Congress not doing anything to push back against the president is in fact a consequence of the Court disabling/destroying all the ways Congress has tried to push back.

Notable too that Thomas cites the Alien Enemies Act -- a law used for internment during WWII -- as a positive immigration precedent. Setting aside the horrors of internment, the Alien Enemies Act is not an exercise of Congress's plenary power over immigration as opposed to *the literal war power.*

Bill@bill-of-lefts.bsky.social · last mo.

bleak stuff. Thomas heavily implies (in a concurrence) that congress can openly ban immigrants because of their race

On June 30, I'll be giving a talk and doing Q&A on the War Powers Resolution and the constitutional balance of war powers. June 30 is my birthday! Roll through! www.mobilize.us/fairfaxdems/...

War Powers Controversies in the Trump Era · Fairfax County Democratic Committee

A Policy Brief hosted by the National Affairs Committee (NAC) of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. NAC policy briefs provide facts and analysis to enable positive conversations about critical ...

mobilize.us

AFRICOM reported this evening (Stuttgart time) that the US conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab on June 19, 2026. www.africom.mil/pressrelease...

Had a moment this AM to share some wisdom on the absurdity of clerkship hiring -- recounted an interview in which (1) the judge asked me a question from Thinking, Fast and Slow; (2) I got it right; and (3) he then accused me of lying about never having heard the question before.

Just thought back to that cartoon-villain photo of Steve Mnuchin's wife with the black leather gloves and the sheet of printed money.

As horrifying as this campaign of premeditated murder is, what might be even more disturbing is the utter indifference of Congress, the public and our allies to such a shocking and unapologetic obliteration of the many laws and norms against targeting civilians. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/31/w...

The U.S. Boat Strike Campaign Has Now Killed Over 200 People

nytimes.com

Data brokers pose grave threats to Americans' privacy and our national security. But the US govt continues to bankroll the industry: it's one its major patrons! It's past time to close the checkbook. Congress must prohibit govt agencies from paying brokers billions to buy Americans’ sensitive info.

Congress Must Close Data Broker Loophole by Prohibiting Government Purchases of Americans' Sensitive Data

A two-pager compiled by the Brennan Center illustrating why Congress must close the data broker loophole by prohibiting government purchases of Americans' sensitive data.

brennancenter.org

dell cameron@dell.bsky.social · 2mo ago

For nearly a decade, the Pentagon was warned—by its own contractors, analysts, and intelligence agencies—that anyone with a credit card could buy a map of where American troops sleep, work, and store nuclear weapons. Now the bill has come due in a war zone. My latest at @wired.com

@vanhollen.senate.gov is 100% correct: Long-standing legal precedents say that blockades are acts of war. Administration officials have denied this to evade congressional scrutiny of the unlawful Iran War while continuing unauthorized hostilities.

Interesting stuff in here about military bureaucracy in Argentina’s Dirty War, where low-performing officers volunteered for the units the regime was tasking with the most abusive missions forces to salvage their careers and leapfrog ahead of higher-performing peers www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/w...

Everyone knows the Kennedy political dynasty, but the Tafts have somehow flown under the radar. Just an insane hold on Ohio... and on U.S. foreign policy?

May 4th brought another strike in Somalia against ISIS. This is the 62nd declared strike this year and 63rd by our tally which includes one reported strike that AFRICOM has denied. www.newamerica.org/insights/ame...

A couple of years ago, I learned about "LOVEINT" from Noah -- that intelligence community employees have used these sec. 702 backdoor searches to spy on their dates and partners.

Noah Chauvin@noahchauvin.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Tomorrow, Congress will begin voting on whether to reauthorize FISA Section 702, an authority that has been repeatedly abused to spy on Americans. I have a short column in The Oklahoman explaining why reauthorization without reforms is bad policy and bad politics. www.oklahoman.com/story/opinio...

AFRICOM has announced another strike in Somalia on 4/9. This appears to be the 53rd of the year and the fourth this month. www.newamerica.org/insights/ame...

In the past year there have been quite literally a dozen War Powers Resolution votes.

Before I became an American, I was Lebanese. Parts of my family live in Lebanon. Anyway, you don't need those bona fides to feel this way, but what is happening in Lebanon right now is a complete outrage. The people there, who mostly are just trying to carve out a living, don't deserve this.

Helpful thread pointing out errors in Glenn Gerstell's Lawfare piece about Section 702. I'll add another one... 1/3 bsky.app/profile/jake...

Opponents of reforming FISA Section 702 cite a government statistic showing “only” a few thousand warrantless searches of Americans’ communications in 2024-25. In @justsecurity.org, @hannahajames.bsky.social & I discuss the truth behind that misleading statistic. www.justsecurity.org/135283/truth...

The Truth Behind Section 702 Query Statistics

Authors write that Congress must now impose a warrant requirement for Section 702 access to Americans' communications.

justsecurity.org

📣“Congressional authorization isn’t just a box-checking exercise:" "It’s a means of ensuring that the solemn decision to go to war is made democratically and accountably" -- not at the whims of one person.

The Intercept@theintercept.com · 4mo ago

An analysis by The Intercept reveals that the “peace” president has embroiled the U.S. in more than 20 military interventions, armed conflicts, and wars.