Bill Maher Tests Adam Schiff on Presidential War Powers During 'Real Time' Segment

Senator Adam Schiff found himself in an awkward position during a recent appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, where he was presented with a quote about presidential war powers that he initially thought was from President Trump's administration but actually came from the Obama era.

The segment began with Maher reading a statement: "The president had the constitutional authority to direct the use of military force because he could reasonably determine that such use of force was in the national interest." He asked Schiff if this was too vague, to which the senator replied, "Totally vague," according to dailymail.co.uk. Maher then revealed that the quote was from the Obama administration regarding military operations in Libya.

Schiff quickly shifted his response, discussing Obama's initial argument for authorizing military action in Syria without congressional approval. He noted that he and others pushed back on this argument, ultimately leading Obama to reconsider due to potential lack of support in Congress. Schiff respected Obama's decision not to proceed with the operations against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Schiff has been a vocal critic of Trump's recent military strikes in Iran without congressional approval. He wrote on X that there was no imminent threat justifying the action and accused Trump of choosing "the path of more chaos—with American lives on the line." Schiff announced his intention to join colleagues in forcing a vote to stop the president from abusing his power.

Maher, despite his ongoing feud with Trump, expressed support for the strikes, stating that he would only oppose them if they involved putting boots on the ground. He said, "When he puts boots on the ground, yeah, then I'll hate it," as reported by dailymail.co.uk.

The recent airstrikes in Iran have drawn criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Schiff told ABC News that there was no imminent threat to justify exposing U.S. troops to risk but acknowledged the desire for an end to Iran's dictatorship. House Speaker Mike Johnson has denied that America is at war, describing the military operations as "limited in its scope," according to The Independent.

Trump has defended his actions on TruthSocial, claiming that Iran has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors. He suggested that U.S. troops might be needed on the ground but did not confirm this. The White House denied an NBC News report that Trump was seriously considering deploying ground troops, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the report "based on assumptions from anonymous sources."