Washington — Lawmakers across the political aisle offered a mixed response Saturday following President Trump’s announcement that the United States launched strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Immediately following Mr. Trump’s announcement, Congressional Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Ted Cruz, backed Mr. Trump’s actions, while a number of leading Democrats condemned his decision to launch the attack without consulting Congress.
In a televised address Saturday night, the president described the strikes as a “spectacular military success” and said “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.” He warned of “far greater” attacks if Iran does not “make peace.”
“There is not another military in the World that could have done this,” Mr. Trump said in a social media post. “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Here’s what lawmakers are saying:
Many Republican lawmakers back U.S. strikes in Iran, but not all
“Good. This was the right call. The regime deserves it. Well done, President @realDonaldTrump,” Sen. Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said on X.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a social media post that “the military operations in Iran should serve as a clear reminder to our adversaries and allies that President Trump means what he says.”
“The President gave Iran’s leader every opportunity to make a deal, but Iran refused to commit to a nuclear disarmament agreement,” Johnson said in the post. “President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated. That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision, and clarity.”
Texas Sen. Cruz, who has backed of Israeli strikes against Iranian targets, said in a statement: “As long as Iran was able to access and conduct activities at Fordow, they could still rush to build a nuclear arsenal. Tonight’s actions have gone far in foreclosing that possibility, and countering the apocalyptic threat posed by an Iranian nuclear arsenal.”
Rep. Rick Crawford, Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee, praised Mr. Trump in a statement and said, “I have been in touch with the White House before this action and will continue to track developments closely with them in the coming days.”
The strikes announced by Mr. Trump Saturday evening further escalated the conflict between Iran and Israel that started June 13. Mr. Trump, on Wednesday, was still mulling over whether the U.S. military would join Israel’s ongoing attacks on Iran.
Before the announcement of the strikes, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia was among the few Republicans who opposed the U.S. action, arguing on social media, “This is not our fight.”
“Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war,” she said in a post on X. “There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first.”
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, reshared Mr. Trump’s post on the strikes with a terse comment: “not constitutional.” Massie introduced a resolution on Tuesday to prohibit U.S. involvement in the conflict. A few days earlier, He pointed out that the power to authorize use of military force rests with Congress, and said of the Israel-Iran conflict on X, “This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution.”
Some Democrats say U.S. strikes in Iran are unconstitutional
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democrats agreed with Massie that the president should have consulted Congress, and on Saturday demanded that lawmakers be “fully and immediately” briefed on the attacks in a classified setting.
“President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East,” Jeffries said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also called for Congress to enforce the War Powers Act.
“President Trump must provide the American people and Congress clear answers on the actions taken tonight and their implications for the safety of Americans,” Schumer said in a statement. “No president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy. Confronting Iran’s ruthless campaign of terror, nuclear ambitions, and regional aggression demands strength, resolve, and strategic clarity. The danger of wider, longer, and more devastating war has now dramatically increased.”
Sen. Mark Warner, vice chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence, said that while there is “no question that Iran poses a serious threat to regional stability,” the president’s actions threaten to drag the U.S. into an open-ended conflict “without consulting Congress” and “without a clear strategy.”
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who cosponsored Massie’s resolution seeking to limit Mr. Trump’s war powers, said in a statement early Sunday that Congress “needs to come back to DC immediately to vote” on the resolution “to ensure there is no further conflict and escalation.”
“Trump’s strikes are unconstitutional and put Americans, especially our troops, at risk,” Khanna said.
Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts called on Congress to return to Washington to vote on Massie’s legislation “to stop this madness.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Mr. Trump’s decision to bomb Iran without congressional authorization “is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers.”
“He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations,” the New York Democrat wrote. “It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been trying to limit Mr. Trump’s ability to order U.S. strikes on Iran amid its ongoing war with Israel, emphasizing that only Congress has the power to declare war under the Constitution. The extent of the president’s authority to enter foreign conflicts without the approval of the legislative branch has been questioned in recent years. The last time Congress authorized the use of military force was in 2002, against Iraq. A year earlier, days after the 9/11 terror attacks, Congress passed a bill approving the use of military force against nations, organizations or individuals the president determines “planned, authorized, committed, or aided the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”
Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan urged Democratic colleagues in a post, “Don’t make another mistake in dragging our country into another war,” and added, “You can stop the President and the war mongers in Congress by signing on to our War Powers Resolution.”
In contrast to other Congressional Democrats, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said he fully supports the U.S. strikes on Iran.
“As I’ve long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS,” Fetterman said in a social media post. “Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities. I’m grateful for and salute the finest military in the world.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who’s on a tour this weekend in red Southern states, announced the news of the U.S. attacks on Iran to his supporters and was met the chants of “no more war” from the crowd.
“It is so grossly unconstitutional,” Sanders said. “All of you know that the only entity that can take this country to war is the U.S. Congress. The president does not have the right.”
Caitlin Yilek and
contributed to this report.
