
The Untouched Power That Could Stop The Iran War
From Lever Time by David Sirota
April 30, 2026 · 52 min · Season 7 · Episode 21
About this episode
David Sirota discusses how Congress has the power to stop unauthorized wars, focusing on a historical immigration case that has influenced this dynamic.
Congress has the power to stop Trump’s unpopular war in Iran — but lawmakers have never used it before. Their excuse? An obscure immigration case from 1983. In this special episode, David Sirota tells the wild story of how a Kenyan-born immigrant and a Ralph Nader-aligned lawyer unwittingly expanded the powers of the president — and left Congress believing that it’s powerless to stop unauthorized wars. Listen to the rest of Master Plan: The Kingmakers. Get ad-free episodes of Master Plan and Lever Time by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit levernews.com/upgrade To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: David Sirota
Topics covered
- Iran War
- Congress
- Presidential Power
- Immigration Case
- Independent Journalism
Keywords
- Iran
- Congress
- Trump
- war powers
- immigration case
- David Sirota
- Ralph Nader
- independent journalism
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Master Plan, Lever, Lever News, Megaphone
Places: Iran, Kenya
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