Lawmakers reacted largely along party lines to the Trump administration’s decision to attack three nuclear sites in Iran Saturday night.
Although supporters and detractors of the decision to bomb the three sites could be found on both sides of the aisle, members of the president’s party were more inclined to celebrate what one, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, called “the right call,” while Democrats questioned the constitutionality of the president’s actions.
“Leaders in Congress were aware of the urgency of this situation and the Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act,” Johnson wrote on a post on X.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, also applauded the attacks in a statement Saturday, writing that Iran had “rejected all diplomatic pathways to peace.”
“The regime in Iran, which has committed itself to bringing ‘death to America’ and wiping Israel off the map, has rejected all diplomatic pathways to peace. The mullahs’ misguided pursuit of nuclear weapons must be stopped,” wrote Thune.
“As we take action tonight to ensure a nuclear weapon remains out of reach for Iran, I stand with President Trump and pray for the American troops and personnel in harm’s way,” Thune continued.
So across-the-board were Republicans’ statements of support that it was notable when Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie posted on X, “This is not Constitutional.”
Ahead of the attacks, Massie introduced the War Powers Resolution, which would have prohibited “United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Trump has since shot back at Massie, writing in a post on Truth Social that “MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER,” to which Massie replied, “@realDonaldTrump declared so much War on me today it should require an Act of Congress. #sassywithmassie.”
By contrast to the GOP, Democrats were largely opposed to the unilateral nature of Trump’s decision or wary of its consequences. Ahead of Saturday’s attacks, a bipartisan bloc of lawmakers made up mostly of Democrats tried to push legislation aimed at stopping Trump from bringing the United States into Israel’s ongoing conflict with Iran without congressional approval.
After Trump announced the attacks Saturday, many Democrats came out with statements decrying the president’s use of military force without consulting Congress.
In a statement after the announcement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat, urged Thune to bring the War Powers Act for a vote on the Senate floor “immediately.”
“President Trump must provide the American people and Congress clear answers on the actions taken tonight and their implications for the safety of Americans,” wrote Schumer, who is Jewish. “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,” Schumer continued.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, seen here in Washington, D.C., in July 2023, said the president “failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force.” (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
In another post on X Saturday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, lambasted Trump’s decision to bomb Iran without congressional approval.
“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,” wrote Jeffries.
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, a Massachusetts Democrat, wrote in a post on X that the president’s “unilateral decision to attack Iran is unauthorized and unconstitutional.”
Leaders of the party’s progressive wing offered even stronger language in denouncing the raids. In a now-viral clip from a rally in Oklahoma, Jewish Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent who tends to caucus with the Democrats, can be seen reacting live to the news of Trump’s attacks on Iran. Upon announcing the strikes, the crowd erupted into a chant of “no more war,” to which Sanders replied “I agree.”
“And I want to tell you something, not only is this news that I’ve just heard this second alarming, that all of you have just heard, but it is so grossly unconstitutional,” continued Sanders.
Prior to the attacks, Sanders had introduced the No War Against Iran Act, which sought to prohibit the use of federal funds for military action against Iran without authorization from Congress.
New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez echoed Sanders’ statements in a post on X Saturday, writing that Trump’s decision to bomb Iran was grounds for impeachment.
“The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,” wrote Ocasio-Cortez. “He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
But despite the strong condemnation of the attacks among Democratic lawmakers, some with strong pro-Israel bona fides voiced support.
Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat and one of the most outspoken pro-Israel voices within his party, wrote in a post on X Saturday that the attack’s were the “correct move” by Trump.
“As I’ve long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS,” wrote Fetterman, along with a screenshot of Trump’s announcement of the attacks on Truth Social. “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.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat and pro-Israel advocate, also defended the attacks in a post on X, writing, “The world can achieve peace in the Middle East, or it can accept a rogue nuclear weapons program — but it cannot have both.”
In a subsequent post on X Sunday, however, Torres signalled that he would vote for legislation aimed at reclaiming Congress’ war powers, adding that “Congress has ceded far too much authority to the executive.”
Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, shot back at Jeffries’ statement of disapproval in a post on X, writing that it was an “embarrassment.”
“Iran is the greatest state sponsor of terrorism, funding its terror proxies who have targeted and killed Americans. It has sought to develop a Nuclear weapon to eradicate the State of Israel and attack America. Donald Trump just stopped it,” Lawler continued.
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