Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) blasted Donald Trump’s attack on Iran Saturday evening, calling the move unconstitutional.
Trump announced on his Truth Social site that US bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities, ending a weeklong deliberation period over joining Israel’s campaign against Tehran and thrusting the United States squarely into an escalating Middle East conflict, CNN reports.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space,” Trump wrote.
Trump received rare bipartisan condemnation for the move.
“This is not Constitutional,” Massie, who has been arguing that Trump needs congressional approval to launch strikes, wrote on X.
Massie had introduced a bipartisan resolution this week seeking to block U.S. military action against Iran “unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran” passed by Congress.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has also been vocal about the US not joining Israel-Iran conflict, also slammed the strike.
“Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war,” she wrote. “There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first. Israel is a nuclear armed nation. This is not our fight.”
“While President Trump’s decision may prove just, it’s hard to conceive a rationale that’s Constitutional,” Trump loyalist Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) said on X. “I look forward to his remarks tonight.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who co-authored the resolution with Massie seeking congressional approval to strike Iran, wrote on X: “Trump struck Iran without any authorization of Congress. We need to immediately return to DC and vote on @RepThomasMassie and my War Powers Resolution to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war.”
Other Democrats called it an impeachable offense to bomb Iran without congressional approval.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said the move is “absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
“The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,” she said on X. “He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations.”
