Trump administration defends Iranian strikes as some lawmakers question its legality

The Trump administration is defending a precision strike on Iranian nuclear sites Saturday that was carried out without Congressional approval or notifying top Democratic lawmakers ahead of time.

“Operation Midnight Hammer” was the largest B-2 bomber strike in U.S. history, Pentagon officials said Sunday, and saw the mobilization of more than 125 aircraft — including decoy flights traveling to the Pacific — that culminated in five precision guided weapons dropped on the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites in Iran.

In television interviews Sunday morning, top administration officials repeatedly said the attack was a limited, targeted engagement to disrupt Iranian nuclear capabilities and not indicative of plans for longer involvement in the war between Iran and Israel.

“It was not an attack on Iran, it was not an attack on the Iranian people, this wasn’t a regime change move,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on CBS’ Face The Nation. “This was designed to degrade and/or destroy three nuclear sites related to their nuclear weaponization ambitions.”

Vice President Vance made similar remarks on NBC’s Meet The Press, stating that America was not at war with Iran, but “at war with Iran’s nuclear program.”

“The president has clear authority to act to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the worst weapon of mass destruction of them all is nuclear,” Vance said. He also said that he empathized with Americans who are “exhausted” by years-long U.S. involvement in the Middle East — but the difference, he argued, is that “now we have a president who actually knows how to accomplish America’s national security objectives. So this is not going to be some long-drawn out thing.”

Some lawmakers disagree with the assessment that Trump could act without seeking approval from Congress first.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky co-authored a bipartisan War Powers Resolution with California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna last week that sought to prevent the U.S. from “unauthorized hostilities” with Iran.

On Face The Nation Sunday, Massie said that there was “no imminent threat to the United States” that would have authorized the strikes and that Congress should have returned to Washington before any action was taken.

“Frankly, we should have debated this war powers resolution that Ro Khanna and I offered, instead of staying on vacation and doing fundraisers, and saying, ‘Oh, well, the President’s got this under control, we’re going to cede our constitutional authority,'” he said.

Massie largely stands alone in his party.

House Speaker Mike Johnson Saturday night praised Trump’s decision, writing on X that “leaders in Congress were aware of the urgency of this situation and the Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act.”

Johnson added that he felt Trump “fully respects the Article I power of Congress, and tonight’s necessary, limited, and targeted strike follows the history and tradition of similar military actions under presidents of both parties.”

Article I grants the ability to declare war solely to Congress — though they have largely been cut out of military planning by presidents in the decades since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Top Democrats were kept in the dark about the mission until after U.S. forces left Iranian airspace, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly, and many Democrats say Trump illegally ordered the strike without Congressional approval.

Virginia Democrat, Sen. Tim Kaine said on CBS Sunday that Trump’s actions escalated the risk for American troops in the region and that lawmakers should have been involved from the start — and should have a say in what happens next.

“The [War Powers Act] says if you initiate hostilities without congressional authorization, even a single member of the House or Senate can force a vote on the Senate floor,” Kaine said. “There is no doubt that the U.S. sending this massive set of Tomahawk missiles and B-2 bombers and bunker busters on three Iranian nuclear sites is hostilities.”

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., echoed that concern on Meet The Press.

“I would say when there’s a clear and imminent threat to U.S. citizens, to the United States, to the homeland, the commander-in-chief has a right to act,” he said. “That wasn’t the case here, and I think certainly for the 40,000 troops in at least six countries in the Middle East — we have a lot of bases in the Middle East — those troops are now at greater risk.”

Trump’s second term has been marked by efforts to consolidate executive power under the president’s authority and wield it for his policy purposes, including attempts to exert influence over Congressional authority over appropriations and war power.