President Donald Trump’s joint strikes on Iran are exposing a divide in both parties, and several Democrats have come to the president’s defense while a handful of Republicans questioned his constitutional authority.
Trump announced U.S. and Israeli forces targeted Iranian leadership and military sites in the early hours of Saturday morning, catching millions of Americans — and the majority of lawmakers in Congress — by surprise.
A handful of House Democrats are justifying the operation, bucking most of their party who are calling the operation a reckless and illegal action. On the other hand, at least three Republican lawmakers are signaling that the news gave them some pause as of Saturday morning.
Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, said the strikes “are targeting military infrastructure — with warnings to Iranian civilians to take shelter away from these military targets.”
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“I want a lasting peace for everyone in the region — from the Iranian people to the Lebanese, Palestinians, Syrians, Iraqis, Jordanians and Israelis. I hope these targeted strikes on the Iranian regime’s military assets ends the regime’s mayhem and bloodshed and makes way for this lasting peace in the region,” Landsman said.
“Thank you to our brave service members who are leading this effort, and I pray their work will finally free the people of Iran and those in the region from more violence or war.”
Reps. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., similarly put the onus on Iran, as did Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and John Fetterman, D-Pa.
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On the Republican side, Reps. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio; Thomas Massie, R-Ky.; and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., are concerned about how actions against Iran could run afoul of Congress’ own constitutional authority.
“We need a government small enough to fit within the Constitution. We need a government effective enough to solve problems and serve its own people. Or, we need a new Constitution,” Davidson posted on X.
When another user asked if he supported Trump’s actions against Iran, Davidson replied, “No. War requires congressional authorization.”
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Massie, a longtime critic of foreign intervention, went so far as to introduce a resolution alongside Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to rein in Trump’s war powers. House Democrats are demanding a vote on that resolution as soon as next week.
Landsman told NOTUS he would vote against such a measure if it came to the House floor.
Gottheimer, while similarly praising the military’s moves, refused to tell Fox News Digital if he would support the resolution via a spokesperson.
“Today, the United States, with our key democratic ally Israel, took decisive action to defend our national security, fight terror, protect our allies and stand with the Iranian people who have been massacred in the streets for demanding freedom from the murderous Iranian regime,” Gottheimer said in a statement.
“I applaud the extraordinary bravery and professionalism of our service members and pray for their safety as Iran and its terrorist proxies retaliate against American bases and our partners in the region.”
He, like Suozzi and Rosen, called for a classified briefing on the operation’s details.
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“I agree with the President’s objectives that Iran can never be allowed to obtain nuclear capabilities. The President must now clearly define the national security objective and articulate his plan to avoid another costly, prolonged war in the Middle East,” Suozzi said in his own statement.
Fetterman, meanwhile, has been among the Democrats most full-throated in his support.
“President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region. God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel,” he posted on X early Saturday morning, among the first lawmakers to sound off.
He said of the war powers vote, “I’m a hard no. My vote is Operation Epic Fury.”
It’s a stark contrast to the majority of Democratic lawmakers who have lambasted Trump for not getting authorization from Congress before the strikes.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Trump moving to “abandon diplomacy and launch a massive military attack has left American troops vulnerable to Iran’s retaliatory actions.”
In the Senate, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said, “Confronting Iran’s malign regional activities, nuclear ambitions and harsh oppression of the Iranian people demands American strength, resolve, regional coordination and strategic clarity. Unfortunately, President Trump’s fitful cycles of lashing out and risking wider conflict are not a viable strategy.”
