US lawmakers demand that Congress look into Trump’s conduct in Iran

Representatives from both the Democratic and Republican parties urged Congress on Sunday to stop President Donald Trump from using military force in Iran and to keep the United States out of escalating the Middle East war.

It appeared doubtful that any resolution limiting Trump’s actions and asserting Congress’s authority to declare war could pass both houses of Congress, as Republican leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives firmly supported American strikes on strategic Iranian nuclear installations.

Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, stated that he anticipates forcing the Senate to vote on his bill this week, which would require Trump to end hostilities with Iran unless specifically approved by a congressional declaration of war from Congress. Representatives Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, and Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, stated that they would like to see a vote on the legislation they sponsored 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 said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” episode.

A request for comment on lawmakers’ criticism was not answered by the White House.

Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson were informed in advance of the U.S. military strike, according to people familiar with the situation. Congressmen are scheduled to receive a briefing on Tuesday.

The office of Thune refrained from commenting on Kaine’s proposal.

The Saturday attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities caused division within Trump’s populist MAGA movement, with some leaders supporting the president and others demanding an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were dubbed the “forever wars” by the United States after the September 11, 2001 attacks on American soil.

“I am a member of the coalition that helped elect President Trump. Massie told CBS, “We were sick of wars that never ended.” “We were promised that we would put our veterans, our immigration policies and our infrastructure first.”

There is no pressing need for Trump to take unilateral action, according to Massie and Kaine.

“There was no imminent threat to the United States,” stated Massie. “We haven’t been briefed.”

Analysts and intelligence sources have differing opinions about Iran’s proximity to developing a nuclear weapon. The United States obtained intelligence suggesting Iran could produce a nuclear weapon within weeks or months if it so chooses, according to Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, who made this announcement on Friday. U.S. officials say they don’t think Iran made the decision to produce a bomb.

Iran asserts that its peaceful nuclear aspirations are centered on energy generation and medical research. But in recent years, Tehran has increased enrichment to 60%, which is just below the weapons-grade of 90%, and has restricted access to its sites for international inspectors, casting doubt on its program, which was started in the late 1950s with U.S. assistance.

Trump said Sunday that he would back Massie’s main opponent in the 2026 midterm elections, claiming the congressman from Kentucky was not in line with the party’s new base because of his resistance to Trump’s legislative attempts and his disapproval of the Iran strike.

Trump wrote, “MAGA is not about lazy, grandstanding, unproductive politicians, of which Thomas Massie is definitely one,” on Truth Social.

Various opinions are voiced by republicans.

Despite criticizing Trump’s decision on Sunday, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, another Trump supporter, maintained that she was not betraying her country.

“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 senator from Georgia wrote on X.

Other Trump supporters denied allegations that his measures against Iran were against the U.S. Constitution and a federal provision that limits a president’s ability to act unilaterally unless there is an attack on the United States.

“The Constitution gave him all the power he required. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime Trump supporter and prominent congressional voice on U.S. foreign policy issues, declared, “They are wrong.”

The South Carolina Republican told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, “You can cut off the funding if you don’t like what the president does in terms of war.”

Republican senators largely praised the attacks on Iran, saying they “set back Iran’s ability to obtain a nuclear weapon.”

“The President made the right call, and did what he needed to do,” Johnson published late Saturday on X. “The Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act.”

According to the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the exclusive right to declare war, while the president is designated as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The balance has changed in recent years as presidents of both parties have been granted the authority to employ military force by Congress.

Democrats cautioned that Iran might have transferred its nuclear material to other locations distant from American targets, but said it was too soon to determine whether the mission had been successful.

“We keep being involved in these wars abroad, which is a disaster for this nation. The next day, we proudly announce that the mission is complete, but Americans will have to live with the fallout for decades,” Khanna told CBS.