Trump faces bipartisan blowback in Congress on Iran strikes
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
President Trump walks towards the White House on June 21. Photo: Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
While most congressional Republicans and some pro-Israel Democrats are praising President Trump's strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, pockets of opposition are already emerging in both parties.
Why it matters: The objections center on the argument that Trump needed congressional authorization for such a provocative use of military force, with one House Democrat pushing for a vote to restrict further unilateral action.
- "We need to immediately return to DC and vote on [Rep. Thomas Massie's] and my War Powers Resolution to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war," said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
- Massie (R-Ky.), a libertarian who often breaks with Trump, said in a post on X reacting to the strikes: "This is not Constitutional."
What happened: Trump announced in a Saturday night post on Truth Social, "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran."
- "A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow," he added. "All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors."
- The decision to intervene directly in Israel's war with Iran marks a historic escalation in the Middle East, Axios' Barak Ravid reported.
State of play: Khanna and Massie, along with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), had been trying to build bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress for their war powers measures in the days leading up to the strikes.
- There is little appetite among the ruling Republicans, outside of a handful of right-wingers, to be in direct conflict with Trump on the issue.
- Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) publicly backed the strikes on Saturday night.
Zoom in: The position that Trump's strikes were constitutionally unsanctioned is more mainstream with Democrats, including House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.).
- Himes called the strikes a "clear violation of the Constitution" in a statement, adding, "We also don't know if this will lead to further escalation in the region and attacks against our forces."
- "I am continuing to closely monitor the situation and demand answers from the Administration," he added.
- Kaine posted on Saturday that he will "push for all Senators to vote on whether they are for this third idiotic Middle East war."
Axios' Stephen Neukam contributed to this story.
