A swing-district Republican called the war an “incredible operation,” and President Trump drew backlash from political figures in both parties over a social media post.
As the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran pushed into its sixth week with the rescue of a downed American airman and fresh threats from President Trump, Democrats and Republicans on Sunday renewed their debate over the conflict.
Democrats have accused Mr. Trump of plunging America into a perilous, open-ended conflict with no plan to bring it to an end or to mitigate its economic costs, which have included surging gasoline prices. Polls have shown most of the public opposes the war.
Mr. Trump and other Republicans have defended the conflict, saying that the United States is standing up to a dangerous adversary. They argue that Iran’s nuclear program posed a severe threat that the president had little choice but to confront.
Here’s a look at how the political debate played out on the 37th day of the war.
A top Democrat said the president had no plan.
Democrats on Sunday celebrated the mission that rescued an Air Force officer whose fighter jet had been shot down in Iran. But they continued to press their case that the president had failed to outline clear objectives, a concrete exit strategy or a satisfactory explanation for rising fuel costs.
“Donald Trump has gotten us involved in this reckless war of choice without any plan,” Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top House Democrat, told ABC News.
“Billions of dollars are being spent every day to drop bombs in the Middle East,” Mr. Jeffries added, “when Donald Trump, as a candidate, promised to never get us involved in this type of conflict.”