Following a U.S. military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, the political temperature in Washington soared as several progressive lawmakers condemned what they saw as an overreach of executive power.
Leading the charge, New York U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised alarms over the legality of the strike, igniting fresh calls for accountability, according to Fox News.
“The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,” Ocasio-Cortez posted late Saturday, responding shortly after the airstrike announcement. She further warned that President Donald Trump “has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
Illinois Rep. Sean Casten echoed her sentiments, suggesting the strike represented an “unambiguous impeachable offense.”
On social media, Casten emphasized that while he acknowledges “Iran is a nuclear threat,” that isn’t the issue at stake. “No president has the authority to bomb another country that does not pose an imminent threat to the US without the approval of Congress,” he wrote. “I’m not saying we have the votes to impeach… I’m saying that you DO NOT do this without Congressional approval.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also criticized the administration, stating that Trump had “failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East.”
In a public statement, Jeffries added, “Donald Trump shoulders complete and total responsibility for any adverse consequences that flow from his unilateral military action.”
Vice President J.D. Vance defended the strike during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“First of all, the president has clear authority to act to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction… The idea that this was outside of presidential authority, I think any real serious legal person would tell you that’s not true,” Vance said.
Joining the pushback, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler condemned what he called partisan hypocrisy.
“For my colleagues that are now demanding impeachment, it is absolutely absurd,” Lawler stated on “Fox and Friends.” “Barack Obama attacked Libya, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen during his tenure and never once did they call for impeachment. So, these folks are truly reaching new levels of Trump derangement in the aftermath of yesterday’s decision.”
