Some of President Donald Trump’s Capitol Hill critics were quick to condemn his administration’s military action against Iran early Saturday, criticizing what they described as an unjustified act of war that hadn’t been approved by Congress.
Shortly after reports of the attack against Tehran emerged in the predawn hours, frequent Trump-basher Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) characterized the strikes on social media as “acts of war unauthorized by Congress.”
Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) are expected to force votes next week on legislation that would curb Trump’s ability to take unilateral military action against Iran without congressional approval. But the U.S.’ Saturday morning strikes came before the bipartisan pair could compel a war powers vote.
One of the first Democrats to respond to the strikes, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), condemned the attack on social media, writing that “we can support the democracy movement and the Iranian people without sending our troops to die.” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) added Saturday that Trump’s overnight military strikes against “a broad set of targets, including senior Iranian leadership — marking a deeply consequential decision that risks pulling the United States into another broad conflict in the Middle East.”
“The American people have seen this playbook before — claims of urgency, misrepresented intelligence, and military action that pulls the United States into regime change and prolonged, costly nation-building,” Warner said.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Trump’s military action “a war of choice with no strategic endgame” and said that he will vote for the war powers resolution when it gets a vote next week.
In a Saturday morning video announcing the strike, Trump warned “the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war, but we’re doing this for the future.” It’s unclear if there were casualties.
Prior to the attacks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed seven of the eight members of the Gang of Eight, which includes the top leaders of both chambers and the heads of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was the one Gang of Eight member who Rubio wasn’t able to connect with before the strikes, according to two people granted anonymity to disclose the details.
Despite calls from key House Democrats for Speaker Mike Johnson to reconvene the House Monday to debate a war powers resolution on Iran, the House isn’t expected to hold votes until the scheduled day of Wednesday. Several Senate Democrats are also calling for the Senate to return before Monday and immediately vote on a bipartisan war powers resolution – something Senate GOP leadership is not expected to do.
“Every single Senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who is helping helm the war powers effort, said in a statement Saturday.
Congressional Republicans, including members of leadership and top committee chairs, quickly backed the joint U.S.-Israel operation. House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford said Trump had “given Iran plenty of opportunities to take the diplomatic route.” Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Senate Republican, called the action “peace through strength.”
Other lawmakers, including longtime Iran hawk Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) rejoiced at the joint U.S.-Israel operation, calling it “necessary and long justified.”
“The end of the largest state sponsor of terrorism is upon us,” Graham wrote on social media. “Freedom for the long suffering Iranian people.” The South Carolina senator has repeatedly encouraged military action against Iran, urging Trump to follow through on his January promise to respond with force after the Iranian regime killed thousands of its own citizens during a mass wave of protests.
In a longer post, Graham lauded what he called a “well-planned” operation, though he acknowledged it would be “violent, extensive and I believe, at the end of the day, successful.” Graham also deliberated on what he predicted would be the fall of the nearly 50-year old Islamic Republic, arguing that “the likelihood of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel getting back on track is exceedingly high.”