WASHINGTON – Members of the United States’ Congress expressed divided opinions following the airstrikes launched by the US in the early hours of today, which targeted three nuclear sites in Iran (Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan) in a move US President Donald Trump has described as an act of preemptive defense to “stop the nuclear threat” posed by Iran.
This military operation has sparked a large wave of a heated disagreement among American lawmakers. While the majority of Republican members of Congress have supported the move as a necessary means of protecting American national security, many Democrats and some Republican members have deemed the operation a violation of the US Constitution and Congressional power.
Senator Roger Wicker (R- Mississippi), who chairs the US Senate Committee on Armed Services, lauded the military operation as a clear signal of the military power of the United States, but cautioned that the US now has “very serious choices ahead to provide security for our citizens and our allies,” according to a report published by the Associated Press.
James Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that “This war is Israel’s war not our war, but Israel is one of our strongest allies and is disarming Iran for the good of the world.” The Republican senator of Idaho clarified that “there will not be American boots on the ground in Iran.”
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson (R- Louisiana) asserted that “The President gave Iran’s leader every opportunity to make a deal, but Iran refused to commit to a nuclear disarmament agreement.” He emphasized that the United States’ “decisive action prevents the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism… from obtaining the most lethal weapon on the planet.”
On the other hand of the debate, Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries condemned the military move, submitting that “President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization”, and therefore “shoulders complete and total responsibility for any adverse consequences that flow from his unilateral military action.”
Senator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D- New York) described the airstrikes as “a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers” and considered the event “clearly grounds for impeachment” of President Trump.
For her part, Senator Rashida Tlaib (D- Michigan) expressed her denouncement of the strike: “Sending US troops to bomb Iran without the consent of Congress is a blatant violation of our Constitution… The American people do not want… endless war in the Middle East.”
To this end, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine (Virginia) criticized the decision by the American president, expressing that Trump had made a clear misjudgment, and reiterating that the American people do not want a war with Iran, and that Congress must be included in in the making of such consequential decisions.
Even within the Republican Party, dissenting voices have appeared: Senator Thomas Massie (R- Kentucky) stated on X (formerly Twitter) that what the President did was “not constitutional”, while Republican Senator Marjorie Taylor Greene expressed her concern, stating: “This is not our fight.”
The airstrikes launched by the United States have occurred after an escalation of tensions in the Middle East, and amid warnings against the development of a wider regional conflict. As a result, Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike have revived the debate surrounding the “War Powers Act”, intended to restrict the president’s ability to take military action without congressional approval.
