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One of President Donald Trump‘s longtime Republican critics, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., joined Gang of Eight Democrats in opposition to Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets.
Trump has not sought congressional approval for an attack on Iran, Massie wrote on X, rebuking “acts of war unauthorized by Congress.”
“I am opposed to this War,” Massie added in a second X post Saturday morning. “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.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly met earlier this week with the Gang of Eight and a spokesman for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News Digital that Rubio called the speaker before the overnight strikes were carried out in Iran.
Notably, Trump has reminded the world that Iran’s regime had targeted him, including fomenting assassination talk in retaliation of his first administration’s taking out Islamic Republican Guard QUDs force commander Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3, 2020.
“I was the hunted, now I am the hunter,” Trump said on the White House lawn before the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes and amid past warnings to Iranian leaders.
Article I of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war, but a U.S. official told Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin that Trump’s U.S. military armada in the Middle East, working in concert with Israel, is targeting military targets and ballistic missile sites that pose an “imminent threat.”
The U.S. military is not targeting Iran’s leadership, but Israel is, the official added.
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Alerting Congress was a topic of contention during the stealth operation to extract Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, when Trump and Rubio said they did not alert the Gang of Eight in advance, fearing leaks and putting U.S. troops at risk before the operation.
The Gang of Eight is the four Republican and Democrat leaders of Congress and four other members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, is part of the group.
“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,” Himes wrote in a statement. “As I expressed to Secretary Rubio when he briefed the Gang of Eight, military action in this region almost never ends well for the United States, and conflict with Iran can easily spiral and escalate in ways we cannot anticipate. It does not appear that Donald Trump has learned the lessons of history.
“The president’s own statement acknowledges this is war, and the Constitution requires the Administration to come to Congress for authorization, something it has not done. Next week, the House will vote on a war powers resolution, and I will support that resolution. In the meantime, I will be praying for the safety of our servicemembers and all civilians who are in harm’s way.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, spoke out against Trump’s Operation Epic Fury action.
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“Iran’s leadership has long supported terrorism across the region, undermined regional stability, continued to advance its nuclear ambitions, and brutally repressed its own people, but acknowledging those realities does not relieve any president of the responsibility to act within the law, with a clear strategy, and with Congress,” Warner wrote in a statement.
“The American people have seen this playbook before – claims of urgency, misrepresented intelligence, and military action that pulls the United States into regime change and prolonged, costly nation-building. We owe it to our service members, and to every American family, to ensure that we are not repeating the mistakes of the past.”
Warner added a call for Trump to give the “country clear answers: What is the objective? What is the strategy to prevent escalation? And how does this make Americans safer?”
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“The president moved forward without seeking congressional authorization,” Warner’s statement concluded. “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.
“Congress must be fully briefed, and the administration must come forward with a clear legal justification, a defined end state, and a plan that avoids dragging the United States into yet another costly and unnecessary war.”
Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, noted Trump gave “Iran plenty of opportunities to take the diplomatic route.”
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“Prior to the initiation of this action, in earnest diplomatic engagements with Iran, President Trump was very clear about his red line from the start and his expectations of Iran during these negotiations,” Crawford wrote in a statement. “Iran absolutely cannot be allowed to maintain a nuclear weapon or capabilities. The safety and security of Americans and our allies are on the line.”
Crawford’s statement stressed concern for American forces conducting the operation versus Democrats’ concerns over Trump’s authority as commander in chief.
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“The United States of America has the most premier military in the world, and I am confident it will successfully carry out the very clearly stated goals of this operation,” Crawford wrote. “As the operations continue, we pray for the safety of the U.S. military forces involved, Americans in the region, and our allies.
“I would strongly advise the Iranian regime heed President Trump’s warning,” he continued.
Trump warned in his State of the Union earlier this week that he will hold to his longtime vow that “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” saying in his Truth Social video overnight explaining the strikes that Iran was attempting to reconstitute its designs on a nuclear arsenal.
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“One thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said in the State of the Union. “Can’t let that happen.”
Senate Armed Forces Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., praised the “decisive action” against “the world’s leading proliferator of terrorism.”
“This is a pivotal and necessary operation to protect Americans and American interests,” Wicker wrote in a statement. “The president has stated the operation’s goals clearly: thwart permanently the ayatollahs’ desire to create a nuclear weapon, degrade their ballistic missile force and their production capacity, and destroy their naval and terrorism capabilities.
“These are the hardest decisions that face any American commander-in-chief, and I appreciate that President Trump and his team conducted a comprehensive strategy using all tools of national power and a well-orchestrated military planning process.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, echoed the long-time Trump position against “regime-change wars.”
“Has President Trump learned nothing from decades of U.S. meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East?” Kaine wrote in a statement.
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“For months, I have raised hell about the fact that the American people want lower prices, not more war — especially wars that aren’t authorized by Congress, as required by the Constitution, and don’t have a clear objective,” he added.
“These strikes are a colossal mistake, and I pray they do not cost our sons and daughters in uniform and at embassies throughout the region their lives,” Kaine said. “The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers Resolution to block the use of U.S. forces in hostilities against Iran.”
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“Every single senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action,” Kaine said.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., echoed the call to vote on Kaine’s war powers resolution.
“Americans don’t want to go to war with Iran,” Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., wrote in a statement. “By launching strikes, President Trump has made the same dangerous and foolish decision President Bush did a generation ago. He put Americans in harm’s way without clearly showing there’s an imminent threat to our national security. He put the Iranian people in harm’s way by calling on them to rise up without a broad coalition of partners to assist in their protection.
“And Trump once again started a cycle of violence that has already escalated and could spiral out of control,” he continued. “This is unacceptable. The Senate should vote on Senator Kaine’s War Powers Resolution immediately.”
“I stand ready to do so today,” Kim wrote.
Fox News Digital’s Liz Elkind contributed to this report.
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