30+ Groups Including MoveOn, Indivisible, the Brennan Center, Demand Progress & Just Foreign Policy Urge Congress to Defend Historic War Powers Resolution Vote Through Litigation and Funding Restrictions
Washington, D.C. — On Thursday, a coalition of more than 30 civil society groups including MoveOn, Indivisible and Ploughshares sent a letter calling on Congress to use every legal and political tool available to defend the historic Iran War Powers Resolution and to end the illegal war in Iran, including by advancing litigation efforts and cutting off funding. The letter was convened by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Demand Progress and Just Foreign Policy. Representative Meeks also announced today he is introducing a resolution today to tell the speaker that "we should be suing the administration for not following” the Iran War Powers Resolution (H.Con.Res.86), and will force a vote on it in September.
Last month, Congress adopted a historic, bipartisan war powers resolution (H.Con.Res.86) that explicitly mandated that U.S. armed forces must be removed from hostilities against Iran. It is the first concurrent resolution adopted by both chambers under the War Powers Act’s Section 5(c) hostilities-termination provision in the law’s 53-year history.
The coalition calls on lawmakers to reaffirm that the historic Iran War Powers Resolution is legally binding and to enforce constitutional and statutory limits on presidential war-making — rejecting the Trump administration's decision to violate this clear directive to end the war, in violation of both the War Powers Act's prohibition on unauthorized hostilities and its 60-day withdrawal requirement, and the constitutional separation of powers. The groups urge Congress to take steps toward defending that position in court, in legislation and in public.
As recognized in H.Con.Res.86, the Iran war was unauthorized from its inception and has further been in unambiguous violation of the War Powers Act since the statute's 60-day withdrawal deadline expired on May 1, 2026. Yet President Donald Trump has refused to withdraw U.S. armed forces and has instead escalated hostilities.
“Congress has already directed the removal of U.S. armed forces under the War Powers Act, and the President must comply,” stated the letter. “Our democracy, the American people and particularly U.S. servicemembers deserve a Congress that will fight for the rule of law and an end to the unauthorized Iran War.”
In response to this clear defiance of the law and the Constitution, the groups’ letter urges Congress to use every tool available to fight back, including supporting litigation against the Trump administration and voting to cut off funding — including the president’s $87.6 billion supplemental funding request — in order to force an end to the war.
A central recommendation of the letter is that Congress should prepare for litigation to enforce H.Con.Res.86. The coalition urges lawmakers to advance House and Senate resolutions explicitly authorizing congressional litigation over the unlawful Iran war, while also pursuing other avenues to advance legal challenges — including seeking House authorization through the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, identifying appropriate plaintiffs and filing amicus briefs in support of any litigation brought by servicemember families.
“As the co-lead of the bipartisan Iran War Powers Resolution that sought to block the Iran war before it started, I know how hard we fought to reassert Congress's constitutional authority over war,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) stated. “Congress must now stand with the American people once more and demand that the courts compel the Executive Branch to end this illegal and unjust war.”
“The Iran War — now in its 146th day — clearly violates the War Powers Act and runs afoul of Congress’s Iran War Powers Resolution,” said Brennan Center Senior Counsel Katherine Yon Ebright. “Lawmakers must continue defending the rule of law in the court of public opinion and take steps to defend it in the federal courts if necessary.”
“By flagrantly ignoring the bipartisan war powers resolution to continue his disastrous, unnecessary war in Iran, President Trump is insulting Congress, the Constitution and the American people,” said Demand Progress Senior Policy Advisor Cavan Kharrazian. “Congress already voted to reassert its constitutional role as the arbiter of war, now they must follow through by using every single tool they have to ensure that the president complies with the law.”
“Securing the first-ever War Powers concurrent resolution to bring our troops home was a historic victory that generations of Americans sacrificed to make possible. With the world hanging in the balance as U.S. and Israeli elites cause mass death and chaos, Congress must flex its power to end this war. This war was illegal the second it was launched without congressional authorization, and became criminal when the U.S. recklessly murdered more than one hundred innocent children. Congress’s historic War Powers vote signals this is now the most unconstitutional war in U.S. history — and it must be ended immediately,” said Erik Sperling, former congressional counsel and executive director of D.C.-based Just Foreign Policy.
Signatories of the letter include American Friends Service Committee, Antiwar.com, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security, Center for International Policy, Center for Victims of Torture, The Chamberlain Network, CommonDefense.us, Defending Rights & Dissent, Demand Progress, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), Friends Committee on National Legislation, Government Information Watch, Hindus for Human Rights, Indivisible, Institute for Policy Studies, New Internationalism Project, Issue One, Just Foreign Policy, The Libertarian Institute, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Military Families Speak Out, Minnesota Peace Project, MoveOn, MPower Change Action Fund, Muslim Justice League, The National Immigration Law Center, National Iranian American Council Action, Palestine Justice Network, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Peace Action, Ploughshares, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, United Church of Christ, United for Peace and Justice, Veterans For Peace, and Win Without War.
The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan public interest law institute that seeks to improve systems of democracy and justice. The Center has conducted extensive research on presidential emergency and war powers.
Demand Progress is a national grassroots group with nearly one million affiliated activists who fight for basic rights and freedoms needed for a modern democracy.
Just Foreign Policy works to reform U.S. foreign policy by mobilizing the majority of Americans who want a foreign policy based on diplomacy, law and cooperation.