Fetterman Joins Republicans in Praising Strikes on Iran

Reaction to President Trump's decision to bomb Iran has largely split along party lines in Washington, with Democratic Sen. John Fetterman and GOP Rep. Thomas Massie two notable exceptions.

• "As I've long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS," Fetterman tweeted, reports the Hill. "Iran is the world's leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities," he added. "I'm grateful for and salute the finest military in the world."
• "This is not Constitutional," Massie of Kentucky wrote, referring to Trump acting without the permission of Congress. Massie had led a bipartisan effort to keep the US out of the conflict.
• Top Democrats condemned the move. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Trump "misled the country about his intentions" and has "dramatically increased" the risk of a wider war. Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer said that "no president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy," per NBC News.
• Sens. Bernie Sanders (an independent) and Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were among those calling Trump's action unconstitutional.

• Top Republicans, however, quickly rallied behind Trump, per the Hill. "The military operations in Iran should serve as a clear reminder to our adversaries and allies that President Trump means what he says," wrote House Speaker Mike Johnson. "Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated. That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision, and clarity."
• "I stand with President Trump," wrote Senate GOP leader John Thune, while GOP Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Rick Crawford, chairs of their respective chamber's intelligence panels, wrote similar statements lauding the move.
• GOP Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio, however, joined Massie in questioning the action. "It's hard to conceive a rationale that's Constitutional."

(More US strikes Iran stories.)