The attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities on Saturday drew criticism from Democrats and divided Trump’s populist MAGA movement [Getty]
Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Sunday called on Congress to rein in President Donald Trump’s use of military force in Iran and prevent U.S. involvement in a deepening Middle East conflict.
With Republican leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives strongly backing the U.S. attacks on key Iranian nuclear sites, it seemed unlikely any resolution that asserts the power of Congress to declare war and restricts Trump’s actions could pass both chambers.
U.S. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said he expects to force the Senate to vote this week on his measure requiring Trump to terminate hostilities against Iran unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war from Congress. Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California said they want a vote on similar legislation they introduced in the House.
“This is the U.S. jumping into a war of choice at Donald Trump’s urging, without any compelling national security interest for the United States to act in this way, particularly without a debate and vote in Congress,” Kaine told CBS‘ “Face the Nation” program.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the criticism from lawmakers.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune were both notified of the U.S. military action ahead of time, according to sources familiar with the matter. Members of Congress are expected to be briefed on Tuesday.
Thune’s office declined to comment on Kaine’s measure.
The attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities on Saturday divided Trump’s populist MAGA movement, with some leaders rallying behind the president and others calling for an end to hostilities after so-called U.S. “forever wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. soil.
“I represent part of the coalition that elected President Trump. We were tired of endless wars,” Massie told CBS. “We were promised that we would put our veterans, our immigration policies and our infrastructure first.”
Massie and Kaine each said there was no urgency requiring Trump to act unilaterally.
“There was no imminent threat to the United States,” Massie said. “We haven’t been briefed.”
Intelligence reports and analysts have reached different conclusions on how close Iran was to building a nuclear bomb. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Friday that the U.S. had intelligence that should Iran decide to do so, it could build a nuclear weapon in weeks or months. U.S. officials say they do not believe Iran had decided to make a bomb.
Iran claims its nuclear ambitions are peaceful and focused on energy production and medical research. But its program, which began in the late 1950s with U.S. support, has fallen under suspicion in recent years, with Tehran ramping up enrichment to 60%, just below the weapons-grade of 90%, and restricting the access of international inspectors to its sites.
Trump vowed on Sunday to support Massie’s primary challenger in the 2026 midterm elections, saying the Kentucky congressman’s criticism of the Iran attack and opposition to Trump’s legislative efforts proved he was not aligned with the party’s new base.
“MAGA is not about lazy, grandstanding, nonproductive politicians, of which Thomas Massie is definitely one,” Trump posted to Truth Social.
Republicans divided
Another Trump loyalist, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, also criticized Trump’s decision on Sunday, but insisted she was not being disloyal.
“I can also support President Trump and his great administration on many of the great things they are doing while disagreeing on bombing Iran and getting involved in a hot war that Israel started,” the Georgia Republican wrote on X.
Other Trump allies pushed back on claims that his actions against Iran violated the U.S. Constitution and a federal law that restricts unilateral action by a president to conditions involving an attack on the United States.
“He had all the authority he needs under the Constitution. They are wrong,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally who has long been a leading voice on U.S. foreign policy matters in Congress.
“If you don’t like what the president does in terms of war, you can cut off the funding,” the South Carolina Republican told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program.
The attacks on Iran generally drew accolades from Republican lawmakers who declared that the operation set back Iran’s ability to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“The President made the right call, and did what he needed to do,” Johnson said in a post on X late Saturday. “The Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act.”
The U.S. Constitution divides war powers in the federal government by making the president the commander-in-chief of the armed forces but leaving sole authority to declare war to Congress. The balance has shifted, with Congress relinquishing the use of military power to presidents of both parties in recent years.
But Democrats said it was too early to tell whether the mission had succeeded, warning that Iran could have moved its nuclear material to other sites far from U.S. targets.
“The tragedy in this country is that we keep entering these overseas wars. We triumphantly declare the mission is accomplished the day after, and then we’re left with Americans bearing the consequences for decades,” Khanna told CBS.
(Reuters)
