(CNN) President Donald Trump doesn't believe he needs congressional approval to make a military strike against Iran, but he likes "the idea of keeping Congress abreast."

"I do like keeping them -- they have ideas, they're intelligent people, they'll have some thoughts. I actually learned a couple of things the other day when we had our meeting with Congress, but I do like keeping them abreast, but I don't have to do it legally," the President said Monday in an interview with The Hill , a CNN affiliate.

The question of Trump's authority to approve a military strike without congressional approval has been hotly debated among members of Congress in recent days amid escalating tensions with Iran.

Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN on Monday it would be within the President's authority to take military action against Iran, claiming "we're at war with them."

"You got to keep mind, Iran, they're a bunch of terrorists and they hate us. And we're at war with them," Inhofe said. "And you know, this is serious stuff. And I don't think that we, I think the President could find himself in a position where he would have to do something and do something right away in the best interest, and he has the power to do that."

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