GOP reluctant to call Iran military action a "war" with Trump using the term

 The Trump administration appears divided on how to label its military action on Iran, with Republican Party lawmakers refusing to use the term “war” when pressed by CNN’s Manu Raju.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told Raju, “I think it’s an operation,” while Sen. Tommy Tuberville said “I wouldn’t call this a war as much as I’d call it a conflict.”

US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, however, have used the term “war” to refer to the military campaign, which they’ve officially called Operation Epic Fury.

The US Constitution states that only Congress has the power to declare a war, but the Trump administration launched military action on Iran without its green light.

This has created backlash among Democrats and some Republicans who say Trump should have obtained congressional authorization first. Democrats will try to force a vote in the Senate this week to require hostilities against Iran to receive authorization from the Senate, however that is expected to fail amid Republican opposition.

It is also prompting comparisons with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to use the term “war” regarding Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, with the Kremlin instead pushing the term “special military operation.”

Putin has on a few occasions used the word “war” to refer to the conflict in Ukraine – the first known public deviation came in December 2022. A US official told CNN this was likely a slip of the tongue.