Speaker Johnson Is Asked if Congress Needs to Authorize the War Against Iran: ‘It’s Not Required Because It’s Defensive in Design’

EXCERPT:

JOHNSON: "So, you know my background. I'm a constitutional attorney, I'm a jealous guardian or Article One and the legislative branch. My understanding of the law has always been, and this is the tradition and the way the law has been used and observed over many decades, the president was acting well within his authority. What I just told you is the scope of what happened here and the situational awareness that they had at the time to make this decision. It was not — it’s not a declaration of war. It’s not something that the president was required because it’s defensive in nature and in design and necessity to come to Congress and get a vote first. And if they had briefed a larger group than the Gang of Eight, you know, there’s a real threat that that very sensitive intelligence that we had, you know, might have been leaked or something.”