Matt Duss

Would a War Against Iran Be Legal? An Expert Explains David Janovsky is the acting director of the Constitution Project at the Project on Government Oversight, a non-partisan watchdog group.

Does Trump Have the Legal Authority to Strike Iran?

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: Also no.

@mattduss.bsky.social on the other site said, "If you’re telling me that Iran poses such a dire threat to the US that war is necessary, but also there’s no need for Congress to debate and vote on that war, you’re telling me you don’t actually believe the first thing." 1/5

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I shared some thoughts with @jewishcurrents.bsky.social on the “coalition” that’s pushing a war with Iran.

As the US political class discusses if/how/when Trump should strike Iran, just a reminder that no one has yet offered a remotely plausible legal justification for it. It’s just based on a presumption that the US has a special privilege to do violence wherever, whenever.

Democrats Should Reclaim the Anti-War Mantle From Trump By backing Israel’s attack on Iran, Trump violated his anti-war pledge. Will his opponents take advantage of it?

With Trump about to drive the US into another round of unnecessary, illegal, and politically unpopular war with Iran, Democrats should be falling over each other to oppose it.

Re-upping my @foreignpolicy.com piece from June. foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/17/d...

The neat thing about embracing class-based internationalism is that … well, billionaires already have.

That’s right.

YouTube video by Carnegie Endowment How a President AOC Would Change The World

President Trump dominates conversations in the U.S. and around the world – for now. But a progressive might succeed him in office. What could that president's foreign policy look like?

@mattduss.bsky.social explained on today's World Unpacked with Jon Bateman: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aZh...

"The key vote here remains Vladimir Putin."

CIP EVP @mattduss.bsky.social told @nytimes.com that despite renewed negotiations, Putin's goal remains the same: undermining Ukraine's independence and bringing it under Russian control.

Trump weighs major new strike on Iran as nuclear discussions show no progress | CNN Politics President Donald Trump is weighing a major new strike on Iran after preliminary discussions between Washington and Tehran over limiting the country’s nuclear program and ballistic missile production f...

7 reporters on this story and not one of them bothered to ask “hey, is any of this actually legal?” www.cnn.com/2026/01/28/p...

As the US political class discusses if/how/when Trump should strike Iran, just a reminder that no one has yet offered a remotely plausible legal justification for it. It’s just based on a presumption that the US has a special privilege to do violence wherever, whenever.

YouTube video by The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder Mark Carney Bodies Trump Without Even Saying His Name | Matt Duss | TMR

linking my favorite majority report interviews 🧵

starting with Mark Carney Bodies Trump Without Even Saying His Name with Matt Duss, former foreign policy advisor for Bernie Sanders

"If you want to understand why Trump doesn't fear accountability, look at the guest list for Dick Cheney's funeral."

So, yikes. Lucky to have @mattduss.bsky.social back on After America this week.

Trump Is Running a “Global Mafia” Liberal foreign policy expert Matt Duss describes why Trump’s foreign moves are so erratic and how the next Democratic administration should approach foreign affairs.

You have got to listen to this. Excellent analysis from @mattduss.bsky.social and @newrepublic.com newrepublic.com/article/2053... via @newrepublic.com

Transcript: Trump Is Running a “Global Mafia” Matt Duss, executive vice president for the Center for International Policy, says there is no coherent strategy to Trump’s foreign policy beyond showing power and enriching the president and his allie...

Trump Is Running a “Global Mafia” newrepublic.com/article/2053... via @newrepublic.com

NEW STATEMENT🚨 @mattduss.bsky.social issues a response to reports of the Iranian government’s deadly crackdown on protests across the country.

internationalpolicy.org/publications...

YouTube video by Al Jazeera English Why is the US quitting international organisations? | Inside Story

Debating Trump’s withdrawal from international organizations on @aljazeera.com youtu.be/cUOr9MtGCLQ?...

Cracks in Democrats’ Venezuela response reveal foreign policy muddle The party has split into two camps in response to President Donald Trump’s actions as the administration signals plans for prolonged control of the country.

As I told the @washingtonpost.com here, there's an opportunity now for antiwar Democrats to offer an alternative vision of US foreign policy. Americans are tired of endless war.

But voters don't want your "positioning," they want to know what you believe. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Even after Maduro’s capture, Democrats try to keep their focus on affordability | CNN Politics Democrats are grappling with how best to respond to the Trump administration’s military intervention in Venezuela, as the operation to capture Nicolas Maduro highlighted foreign policy differences wit...

“They need to start acting like they really believe this is a crisis,” @mattduss.bsky.social told @cnn.com about Democrats’ response to Trump’s Venezuela actions and their challenges to check executive power.
edition.cnn.com/2026/01/06/p...

Trump's Venezuela Regime Change Attempt an Illegal Act of War - CIP Trump has launched an illegal and reckless regime change operation in Venezuela that violates both U.S. and international law.

"None of this use of military force has been authorized by Congress. Lawmakers must assert their constitutional war powers and force the president to remove U.S. armed forces from the hostilities with Venezuela that he has started."

@mattduss.bsky.social

internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Trump’s Venezuela Blockade an Act of War; Congress Must Act - CIP December 17, 2025 – In response to President Trump’s announcement on social media of a blockade of certain ships into and out of Venezuela, Center for International Policy Executive Vice President Mat...

Trump’s aggression towards Venezuela echoes the worst moments of American imperialist violence and domination in Latin America. We should be moving away from that history, not rebooting it.

Statement from @cipolicy.bsky.social in response to the blockade.

Will Hegseth Go? Defense Secretary Faces Anger from Congress over Boat Strikes, Signal Chat “Pete Hegseth, much like the president he serves, sees himself as, essentially, above the law, as unconstrained by legal procedure.” Foreign policy analyst Matt Duss discusses the brewing conflict wit...

“Pete Hegseth, much like the president he serves, sees himself as, essentially, above the law, as unconstrained by legal procedure.”

This #GivingTuesday, help restore peace, democracy, and human rights to the center of U.S. foreign policy. Your support powers our independent analysis and bold advocacy for a more just world ⬇️

donate.stripe.com/dR6aG4a8P9jk...

If you want to know why Pete Hegseth is confident he'll face no consequences for blatant war crimes, just look at the list of people who attended Dick Cheney's funeral.

“It would be deeply irresponsible and harmful to commit to 20 years of underwriting Israel’s war machine in light of its record of flagrantly misusing the aid and arms we already provided.”

—CIP’s @mattduss.bsky.social on Israel seeking a 20 year US aid MOU:

internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Thank you Dan!

Toward a Neo-Progressive Foreign Policy In foreign policy, progressives are adrift, caught between dated paradigms that have not yet come to terms with the current geopolitical moment.

🧵Corruption, kleptocracy, and oligarchy should be the unifying theme of progressive policy — and, for that matter, center-left and liberal policy — and that’s been true for a very very long time.

"You can't trust Donald Trump."

"But you can trust Trump to be Trump."

@mattduss.bsky.social from @cipolicy.bsky.social on how Australia & other countries can understand the US President.

🎧 theaus.in/4nrpSTe

@emmashortis.bsky.social #auspol

Trump Leaves Behind a Reeling Washington to Chase a Deal With China

"The credibility of any U.S. foreign policy initiative, by Trump or any president, is undermined by the U.S.'s own internal political crisis, visible to the world," @mattduss.bsky.social told the NYT

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/u...