Pelosi's war powers flip-flop exposed in resurfaced Obama-era clip contradicts Trump criticism on Iran

By Fox News · Fox News

A clip of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has resurfaced online where she flatly defended the then-Obama administration’s decision to strike Libya — without the congressional authorization she believes President Donald Trump should have secured before conducting his own strikes over the weekend. "You’re saying that the president did not need authorization initially and still does not need any authorization from Congress on Libya?" a reporter asked Pelosi at a press event back in 2011. "Yes," Pelosi answered plainly. The unambiguous answer contrasts sharply with Pelosi’s view of Trump’s strikes against Iran on Saturday. MASSIE-LED PUSH TO HANDCUFF TRUMP ON IRAN GETS JEFFRIES' BACKING In a joint effort targeting Iranian military leadership , the U.S. and Israel killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, citing an imperative to halt Iran’s pursuit of developing a nuclear weapon. Pelosi swiftly condemned the operation. "President Trump’s decision to initiate military hostilities into Iran starts another unnecessary war which endangers our servicemembers and destabilizes an already fragile region," Pelosi said in a post to X. "The Constitution is clear: decisions that lead our nation into war must be authorized by Congress." Pelosi, alongside other Democrats, is pursuing a war powers resolution that would limit Trump from taking further military action against Iran without express congressional approval. Trump’s strikes bear similarity to President Barack Obama’s decision to strike Libya in 2011 under Operation Odyssey Dawn. In that operation, Obama ordered a series of strikes against Libya in March 2011, looking to deter Muammar Gaddafi from attacking civilian protesters. FETTERMAN PRAISES TRUMP'S IRAN OPERATION AS 'HISTORIC' MOMENT FOR AMERICA AMID PARTY DIVISIONS Gaddafi, known as the "Mad Dog of the Middle East," was the ruler of Libya from 1969 to 2011. He had a long and complicated relationship with the U.S. — at times alig…