BONUS: The Untouched Power That Could Stop The Iran War

Master Plan

The Lever & David Sirota

History, News, Politics

4.8 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, the Iran War will reach its official 60-day mark. That’s a critical deadline under the War Powers Resolution, a Nixon-era law created to limit presidential war-making. Under that law, President Donald Trump can claim a one-time, 30-day extension, so the Iran War will likely continue. But the War Powers Resolution also gives Congress a secret weapon to end this unpopular war — or any war — whenever it wants. So why has Congress never used it? 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. Note: This bonus episode marks the start of our midseason intermission for Master Plan: The Kingmakers. We’ll be back this summer with the remaining four episodes. Until then, please become a paid subscriber to keep receiving bonus episodes, updates, and more. Visit levernews.com/upgrade Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	Hey, everyone, just a quick note. You're listening to the free feed of Master Plan, which means two things.
0:05.5	You're going to hear ads and you'll have to wait longer for new episodes. If you'd rather skip the
0:10.6	ads and get the episodes faster, visit levernews.com slash upgrade to support our work. There's a link
0:17.9	in the show notes. Head to the coast in Abercrombie's latest summer drop.
0:23.6	It's dress season. From minis to maxis, there's a dress for every summer plan.
0:28.5	And Abercrombie's new linen blend matching sets are so light and breathable.
0:33.8	Perfect for brunch or rooftop happy hours.
0:37.0	Dress like you're on holiday.
0:38.7	Shop Abercrombie in the app, online, and in stores.
0:48.5	The Lever.
0:50.6	Hey everyone, we have something special for you this week.
0:53.6	Today's episode happened a bit by
0:55.2	accident. It's a story that we initially cut from our new season of Master Plan about an obscure
1:00.5	Supreme Court case in the 1980s that changed the balance of power in Washington. We initially
1:05.9	plan to turn the story into a bonus episode for our Master Plan premium subscribers, but as we watched Donald
1:12.2	Trump's war in Iran escalate, and as we watched mainstream media ask what Congress could
1:18.0	actually do about it, we decided this story was too important to keep behind a paywall.
1:23.2	So we're releasing it today as an unlocked bonus episode. The first four episodes of Masterplan are available now.
1:30.5	The remaining four episodes will be released this summer.
1:33.4	If you haven't finished listening to the first half of Master Plan season two, this is your
1:38.4	chance to catch up.
1:39.6	It's also a chance to leave us a rating or a review on your podcast app and tell a friend about the work
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