Democratic lawmakers slam Trump for strikes on Iran
A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran. PHOTO: AFP
Multiple Democratic lawmakers on Saturday slammed President Donald Trump for launching massive military strikes against Iran without Congress war power authorisation, saying the operation raises "serious legal and constitutional concerns".
"By the president's own words, 'American heroes may be lost,'" said Democratic Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. "That alone should have demanded the highest level of scrutiny, deliberation and accountability, yet the president moved forward without seeking congressional authorisation."
"The constitution is clear: The decision to take this nation to war rests with Congress, and launching large-scale military operations — particularly in the absence of an imminent threat to the United States — raises serious legal and constitutional concerns," Warner said.
Veteran Democratic Senator Tim Kaine called the strikes "a colossal mistake", urging his colleagues to "immediately return" to the Capitol and vote on whether to authorise or limit US strikes against Iran.
Read More: Trump says US carrying out 'major combat operations' in Iran
"For months, I have raised hell about the fact that the American people want lower prices, not more war — especially wars that aren't authorised by Congress, as required by the constitution, and don't have a clear objective," Kaine said in a statement.
Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona, said on social media early on Saturday morning that Americans should not have to "pay the ultimate price for regime change and a war that hasn't been explained or justified to the American people".
Tim is right. Strikes are underway and Congress hasn’t voted. No President gets to drag working-class Americans into another war without authorization. Bring the Senate back. Take the vote. https://t.co/mwzaFwNwoF
Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the US House of Representatives, said Trump "failed to seek Congressional authorisation prior to striking Iran".
Any US president, excluding under the "exigent circumstances", "must seek authorisation for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war", Jeffries said in a statement.
Jeffries also noted that the ongoing operation "has left American troops vulnerable to Iran's retaliatory actions".
"Everything I have heard from the administration before and after these strikes on Iran confirms this is a war of choice with no strategic endgame," said lawmaker Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Himes said he had told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio directly that military action in the Middle East "almost never ends well for the United States".
"It does not appear that Donald Trump has learned the lessons of history," Himes said.
Ahead of the strikes, Rubio reached out personally to some top lawmakers at the Capitol, according to an AP report, adding that the notifications mentioned ballistic missiles, but didn't indicate that the strikes would be so expansive or the goals so broad.
However, a spokesman from the office of Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, confirmed early on Saturday morning that the senator had not been notified.
Reed said in a statement dated Friday that the Trump administration didn't provide Congress with any "real briefings or intelligence" on the ongoing massive military operations against Iran.
"Congress has received no real briefings or intelligence, and it is hard to justify action without rationale," the senator said.Though top Republican lawmakers voiced support for the operations against Iran, Thomas Massie, a Republican House lawmaker from Kentucky, criticised the strikes as "acts of war unauthorised by Congress" in a social media post.
I am opposed to this War.
This is not “America First.”
When Congress reconvenes, I will work with @RepRoKhanna to force a Congressional vote on war with Iran.
The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.