Top Republicans in Congress swiftly rallied behind President Trump on Saturday after he ordered strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, even as senior Democrats and some G.O.P. lawmakers condemned it as an unconstitutional move that could drag the United States into a broader war in the Middle East.
In separate statements, the leading Republicans in Congress, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the majority leader, commended the military operation, calling it a necessary check on Iran’s ambitions of developing a nuclear weapon. Both men had been briefed on the military action before the strike was carried out, according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Mr. Johnson and Mr. Thune both argued that the airstrikes were necessary after Iran had rejected diplomatic overtures to curb its nuclear program.
“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,” Mr. Thune said.
Mr. Johnson argued that the military action was consistent with Mr. Trump’s muscular foreign policy.
“President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated,” he said. “That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision and clarity.”
But top Democrats harshly criticized the move.
“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,” Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, said in a statement. He said the president “shoulders complete and total responsibility for any adverse consequences that flow from his unilateral military action.”
Representative Jim Himes, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, condemned the operation as unconstitutional and warned that it could drag the United States into a larger conflict.
“Donald Trump’s decision to launch direct military action against Iran without congressional approval is a clear violation of the Constitution, which grants the power to declare war explicitly to Congress,” he said in a statement. “It is impossible to know at this stage whether this operation accomplished its objectives. We also don’t know if this will lead to further escalation in the region and attacks against our forces, events that could easily pull us even deeper into a war in the Middle East.”
Leading national security Democrats on Capitol Hill were not informed of the strikes until after Mr. Trump had posted about them on social media, according to three people familiar with the matter who would discuss it only on the condition of anonymity.
Most of the praise immediately following the operation came from Republicans. Some emphasized their views that the bombings would not lead to a ground deployment of American forces in the region.
“To those concerned about U.S. involvement — this isn’t a ‘forever war’ in fact, it’s ending one,” Senator Markwayne Mullin, Republican of Oklahoma, said on social media.
Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee, called Mr. Trump’s decision to strike in Iran “deliberate” and “correct.”
“We now have very serious choices ahead to provide security for our citizens and our allies and stability for the Middle East,” Mr. Wicker said in a statement.
Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, whose unqualified support for Israel has put him at odds with other members of his party, was one of the few Democrats to offer an immediate statement of support. He wrote on social media that the military action “was the correct move.”
“Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities,” Mr. Fetterman added. “I’m grateful for and salute the finest military in the world.”
Other lawmakers, many of them Democrats who had already expressed concerns that the Trump administration was considering sidestepping Congress’s constitutional power to declare war, immediately criticized the strikes on the nuclear sites.
Mr. Trump, “did not come to Congress to explain his reasons for bombing a sovereign nation and to seek authorization for these strikes,” Representative Diana DeGette, Democrat of Colorado, said in a statement. “These reckless actions are going to put the lives of American service members and American citizens at risk.”
Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, who earlier this week introduced a bipartisan resolution that would require congressional approval before U.S. troops could engage in offensive attacks against Iran, wrote on social media that the attack was “not Constitutional.”
Michael Gold covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on immigration policy and congressional oversight.
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