Utah congressional candidates call for congressional constraints on Trump in Iran

Utah Republican candidates for the 3rd Congressional District said during a televised debate Monday that Congress must authorize further military action in Iran as the Trump administration’s negotiations continue to stutter three months into the conflict.

Congress is expected to weigh in on a war powers resolution after returning to Washington, D.C., this week. House GOP leaders canceled a vote last month when it became clear they lacked sufficient support to defeat the measure limiting the executive branch.

The War Powers Resolution prevents the president from deploying U.S. Armed Forces after 60 days of a conflict unless Congress has declared war, specifically authorized action, extended the 60-day window or is unable to meet because of an attack on the country.

Rep. Celeste Maloy and her primary opponent, former state lawmaker Phil Lyman, agreed lawmakers should implement guardrails now that the deadline has passed. The candidates expressed support for President Donald Trump’s decision to enter the war.

Maloy left open the possibility for more warfare, but Lyman suggested it may have already run its course. He also diverged from Maloy on two contentious issues facing the state: plans for an enormous AI data center and regional immigration detention hub.

On these issues, Maloy repeated Trump administration goals to lead the globe on artificial intelligence and to speed up immigrant deportations, while Lyman countered that both projects could get in the way of efforts to put America — and Utah — first.

Will Congress act on Iran?

On Monday, Lyman questioned why the administration was pursuing the war by destroying Iran’s industrial base after the U.S. successfully eliminated dozens of the Islamic Republic’s top leadership. The American people need to know “what’s next,” Lyman said.

“The powers that we give to one president will be assumed by a president in the future using this as precedent,” Lyman told reporters after the debate. “It needs to have a congressional vote to continue the hostilities or to make a different plan.”

Lyman previously told the Deseret News he believed Trump’s Iran foreign policy had been “hijacked” by deep-state actors. During the debate, he said he trusted Trump to resolve the negotiations, which he said are driven by concerns over global commerce.

Maloy revealed her colleagues in the House GOP caucus are currently discussing what guardrails should be placed on the Iran war. Continued strikes do not violate the War Powers Act because Congress is “having these conversations,” she said.

“The president’s the commander in chief. He has the ability to take action, but we declare war and we control the purse strings, and we have a responsibility to step up and do our part,” Maloy said. “Nobody’s violating the law. The process is playing out.”

Maloy praised the president for balancing a restrained view of foreign intervention with “bold action” that she said demonstrated a “peace through strength” approach” against a regime that has long sponsored terrorist groups destabilizing the region.

On Monday, Iran announced it would halt negotiations to end the war after Israel responded to missiles from the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump later said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about limiting the attack in Lebanon.

Despite growing anti-Israel sentiment — including among younger Republican voters — Maloy and Lyman jointly voiced support for the U.S.-Israel alliance, saying the relationship is mutually beneficial and is vital to U.S. interests in the Middle East.

Data center and detention facility

The two candidates are vying to represent Utah’s sprawling 3rd District, which now covers 60% of the state’s geographical area, including the southern half of Utah County, and all of the mostly rural eastern and southern parts of the state.

Despite the projects not taking place in the 3rd District’s boundaries, Maloy and Lyman were asked about the contentious “Stratos Project” proposed for Box Elder County and “mega center” proposed for housing detained immigrants in Salt Lake City.

Utah is the “perfect place to build data centers,” according to Maloy. The state should lead on AI technology, which requires massive infrastructure upgrades, but the projects must be communicated in ways that “bring the public along,” Maloy said.

Maloy said she supports the Box Elder proposal if local residents want it. A Deseret News-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found 53% of Utah voters said they oppose the project, including 85% of Democrats, 62% of independents and 36% of Republicans.

Lyman said he opposed the project, as it currently stands, because he believes it was not approved through a transparent process. He disagreed Utah is the best place for data centers because of the demand they place on natural resources like water.

Lyman also disagreed with Maloy on the necessity of a 833,000-square-foot warehouse purchased by ICE in March to house up to 7,500 detainees as part of the Trump administration’s strategy to speed up deportations of illegal immigrants across the country.

Maloy said the new facility would provide much needed federal beds for ICE detainees. However, she said she hoped under new leadership the Department of Homeland Security would do more to coordinate with local leaders about details of the plan.

Lyman, on the other hand, said he did not need a “massive warehouse” because immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally should be “shipped out of the country” immediately instead of going through a detention process that could become drawn out.

The 3rd District primary election will be held on June 23. Ballots will be mailed out starting on Tuesday.