Top Democrats are struggling to come up with a unified message on President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb Iranian nuclear sites, even as the president upended his own party by suggesting a “regime change” may be needed in the Islamic Republic.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling for a War Powers Act vote, arguing that Congress needs to rein Trump in before he triggers a wider conflict in the Middle East. That vote could come as soon as this week.
We scooped on Sunday that Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), Adam Smith (Wash.) and Jim Himes (Conn.) — the ranking members of the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence panels — are drafting their own War Powers resolution.
Democratic aides described this as an alternative to a similar measure pushed by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), although members won’t be discouraged from backing both. Massie has emerged as one of the loudest voices on the Republican side denouncing Trump’s attack on Iran, earning him a lengthy rebuke from the president on Truth Social.
Democratic leaders are also upset they received little to no information before Saturday’s bombing. Schumer got a call from Trump administration officials before the U.S. attack was launched, although he wasn’t even told what country was being targeted or how.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries “could not be reached until after, but he was briefed.” Himes and Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), top Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, received no heads-up, although their GOP counterparts were informed of the impending operation.
A number of Democrats believe Schumer and Jeffries aren’t being forceful enough in opposing the Iran bombing. These Democrats are calling Trump’s decision to attack Iran “unconstitutional” and “illegal,” and are even talking about potentially impeaching him. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called for Trump’s removal from office.
There are also Democrats who back Trump’s move. Pro-Israel Democrats privately complain that their party is so anti-Trump that Democrats refuse to support the attack even though it may have set back Iran’s nuclear weapons program by months or years.
Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) War Powers resolution ripens on Friday. But with the Senate likely to be in the middle of budget reconciliation on the floor, GOP leaders have an incentive to allow a vote sooner. While this is all subject to a time agreement between Schumer and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Kaine told us he expects a vote to happen before the July 4 recess.
“It’s not a vote on whether to go to war with Iran,” Kaine said of his push. “It’s ‘should we go to war with Iran without a vote in Congress?’”
While Kaine is likely to get most Senate Democrats on board, it’s unclear whether enough Republicans will join the effort. It only requires a simple majority for passage, though there likely won’t be enough support to override a presidential veto.
Seven GOP senators who are still serving in the chamber today voted for Kaine’s Iran War Powers resolution back in 2020, though the circumstances today are very different.
“I know I will have Republican support. How much is unclear,” Kaine said. “The day-to-day events will affect this… This is a very evolving situation.”
News: A group of 12 House Democratic veterans — many who served in Afghanistan and Iraq — is announcing they’ll support a War Powers Act resolution. In a letter led by Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), the House Democrats don’t specify whether they’re backing the Massie resolution or the upcoming one from ranking Democrats on national security committees.
